Curry with onions may help reduce colon cancer

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore said that compounds found in curry and onions may help prevent colon cancer in those at risk.

Patients with pre-cancerous colon polyps took a combination of curcumin, which is found in the curry spice turmeric, and quercetin found in onions, resulting in smaller and fewer polyps.


Curry for sale at a market in Lamno, Indonesia, January 31, 2005. Enny Nuraheni en/JJ/Reuters photo via Yahoo News.

Earlier studies with rats, and observation of Asian cultures that eat lots of curry support the recent test results.

"We believe this is the first proof of principle that these substances have significant effects in patients with FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis)," Dr. Francis M. Giardiello of The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore said in a statement.