A new study from the University of Michigan, published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment has found that compounds in some spices may reduce the risk of breast cancer. The researchers found that curcumin (found in turmeric) and piperine (found in black pepper) had an effect on the disease in vitro by halting the growth of stem cells that spawn tumours, while leaving the rest of the cells unaffected.

The doses used were up to 20 times higher than what you would consume naturally in the diet, but researchers said that these doses could be achieved through supplementation. "If we can limit the number of stem cells, we can limit the number of cells with potential to form tumours," said Madhuri Kakarala, the study's lead author.

What is truly remarkable about this research is that the compounds studied appear to have no impact on normal, non-cancerous stem cells, but rather appear to selectively target the cancer stem cells. "This shows that these compounds are not toxic to normal breast tissue," Kakarala says. "Women at high risk of breast cancer right now can choose to take the drugs tamoxifen or raloxifene for prevention, but most women won't take these drugs because there is too much toxicity. The concept that dietary compounds can help is attractive, and curcumin and piperine appear to have very low toxicity."

Because this study was done in lab and is still rather preliminary, the researchers cautioned against supplementing with curcumin and piperine until more studies can be conducted.

The Healthy Foodie is Doug DiPasquale, Holistic Nutritionist and trained chef, living in Toronto. You can email him with questions at dugdeep@gmail.com.