Ginger....anti-inflammatory effects and protection against cancer...

Ginger
The spice ginger is the underground rhizome of the ginger plant, known botanically as Zingiber officinale. The plant's botanical name is thought to be derived from its Sanskrit name singabera which means "horn shaped," a physical characteristic that ginger reflects.
It has a used long history of being as medicine in Asian, Indian, and Arabic herbal traditions. In China, for example, ginger has been used to help digestion and treat stomach upset, diarrhea, nausea, arthritis, heart conditions, common cold, flu-like symptoms, headaches, and painful menstrual periods for more than 2,000 years. It has been used to help treat the. Ginger is native to Asia where it has been used as a cooking spice for at least 4,400 years.
Ginger is the underground rhizome of the ginger plant with a firm, striated texture. The flesh of the ginger rhizome can be yellow, white or red in color, depending upon the variety. It is covered with a brownish skin that may either be thick or thin, depending upon whether the plant was harvested when it was mature or young.
Health Benefits
Ginger possesses numerous therapeutic properties including antioxidant effects, an ability to inhibit the formation of inflammatory compounds, and direct anti-inflammatory effects.
Gastrointestinal Relief
In herbal medicine, ginger is regarded as an excellent carminative (a substance which promotes the elimination of intestinal gas) and intestinal spasmolytic (a substance which relaxes and soothes the intestinal tract). Ginger reduces all symptoms associated with motion sickness including dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and cold sweating.
Anti-Inflammatory Effects
Ginger contains very potent anti-inflammatory and compounds called gingerols. These substances are believed to explain why so many people with osteoarthritis, aging knees or rheumatoid arthritis experience reductions in their pain levels and improvements in their mobility when they consume ginger regularly.
In some research, ginger was shown to suppress the pro-inflammatory compounds (cytokines and chemokines) produced by synoviocytes (cells comprising the synovial lining of the joints), chrondrocytes (cells comprising joint cartilage) and leukocytes (immune cells).
Protection against Cancer
Ginger compounds may be effective chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic agents. Gingerols kill cancer cells by inducing apoptosis (programmed cell death) and autophagocytosis (self-digestion).
Immune Boosting Action
Ginger can not only be warming on a cold day, but can help promote healthy sweating, which is often helpful during colds and flu. A good sweat may do a lot more than simply assist detoxification. German researchers have recently found that sweat contains a potent germ-fighting agent Dermicidin that may help fight off infections. Dermicidin is manufactured in the body's sweat glands, secreted into the sweat, and transported to the skin's surface where it provides protection against invading microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi.

Turmeric's protective effects on the cardiovascular system...

Turmeric
Curcuma longa, and year long herb, is a member of the Zingiberaceae (ginger) family. The plant grows to a height of three to five feet, and is cultivated extensively in Asia, India, China, and other countries with a tropical climate. It has oblong, pointed leaves and bears funnel-shaped yellow flowers.
The rhizome is usually boiled, cleaned, and dried, yielding a yellow powder. Dried Curcuma longa is the source of the spice turmeric, the ingredient that gives curry powder its characteristic yellow color. Turmeric is used extensively in foods for both its flavor and color.
Turmeric has a long tradition of use in the Ayurved, particularly as an anti-inflammatory agent, and for the treatment of flatulence, menstrual difficulties, hematuria, hemorrhage, and colic. Turmeric can also be applied topically in poultices to relieve pain and inflammation.
Active Constituents
The active constituents of turmeric are the flavonoid curcumin and volatile oils including tumerone, atlantone, and zingiberone. Other constituents include sugars, proteins, and resins. The best researched active constituent is curcumin, which comprises 0.3 to 5.4 percent of raw turmeric.
Health benefits
Antioxidant Effects
Water- and fat-soluble extracts of turmeric and its curcumin component exhibit strong antioxidant activity, comparable to vitamins C and E. Incubation (18 hours) with curcumin resulted in enhanced cellular resistance to oxidative damage. Curcumin's antioxidant role in down-regulating nitric oxide formation, a key element in inflammation and possibly in the process of carcinogenesis.
Anti-inflammatory Effects
In numerous studies, curcumin's anti-inflammatory effects have been shown to be comparable to the potent drugs but without any toxicity. Curcuma longa significantly reduced inflammatory swelling and inhibiting pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid, as well as neutrophil function during inflammatory action.
Cardiovascular Effects
Turmeric's protective effects on the cardiovascular system include lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels, decreasing susceptibility of low density lipoprotein (LDL) to lipid peroxidation, and inhibiting platelet aggregation.
Other turmeric applications
Natural remedies such as turmeric, have been used topically for the avoidance and treatment of many conditions. For example, turmeric is used as treatment of wound, burns, including sun burns and psoriasis as well as in body lotions, moisturizers, antiseptic agents, beauty aids, allergic reaction formulations, anti-inflammatory products, anti-cancer products, anti-aging products, anti-oxidant products and osteoporosis products, including vitamin D. Turmeric extract inhibits the growth of a variety of bacteria, parasites, and pathogenic fungi.
System-Wide, Safe, Multimodal Defense
Turmeric has powerful anti-cancer and chemo preventive powers. Turmeric’s multi-targeted actions block multiple forms of cancer before they manifest and yield compelling results in combating a remarkably broad array of cancers, including those of the breast, uterus, cervix, prostate, and GI tract..
By blocking the inflammatory master molecule nuclear factor-kappaB (or NF-kB), curcumin blunts cancer-causing inflammation, slashing levels of inflammatory cytokines throughout the body. Curcumin also interferes with production of dangerous advanced glycation end products that trigger inflammation which can lead to cancerous mutation.
Curcumin alters cellular signaling to enhance healthy control over cellular replication, which tightly regulates the cellular reproductive cycle, helping to stop uncontrolled proliferation of new tissue in tumors. It promotes apoptosis in rapidly reproducing cancer cells without affecting healthy tissue.
In addition, curcumin regulates tumor suppressor pathways and triggers mitochondrial-mediated death in tumor tissue, thereby increasing the death of cancer cells.
Finally, curcumin interferes with tumor invasiveness and blocks molecules that would otherwise open pathways to penetration of tissue. It also helps to starve tumors of their vital blood supply and it can oppose many of the processes that permit metastases to spread.