Ginger Kills, or Cures. Whatever
April 7th, 2006 by windyI read an interesting article on the Discovery site regarding the effectiveness of ginger in killing ovarian cancer cells:
The Michigan team dissolved ginger powder in a solution and applied it to ovarian cancer cells in a laboratory. Ginger caused two kinds of cancer cell death. The first is called apoptosis, in which the cells essentially commit suicide. The second type of cell death is autophagy, in which cells digest or attack themselves. “Most ovarian cancer patients develop recurrent disease that eventually becomes resistant to standard chemotherapy — which is associated with resistance to apoptosis. If ginger can cause autophagic cell death in addition to apoptosis, it may circumvent resistance to conventional chemotherapy,” study author Dr. J. Rebecca Liu, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, explained in a prepared statement.
Fascinating, no? After reading I began to wonder. The Japanese are known for frequently including ginger in their recipes, so would the regular consumption of this bitter root be beneficial to the prevention of ovarian cancer much like how eating a wide variety of veggies can help reduce the risk of colon and stomach cancers? I couldn’t help but think that statistics would show Japan to have a far lower number of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer than, say, the United States. I did a little searching and lo and behold, I’m right. Sort of:
Highest rates of ovarian cancer are found in industrialized countries and the lowest rates are found in the underdeveloped countries. Japan is a notable exception to this rule and has a low rate of ovarian cancer, despite industrialization.
Census reports also show that in 2004 the number of patients reported with ovarian cancer in Japan was less than half of the number of patients recorded in the USA. As a precautionary measure, I’m going to start incorporating more ginger into my diet 
This news is actually very exciting and will be something to watch in the coming months. Cancer has always been up there along with bear attacks and HIV in the column of scary. Some cancers are treatable and tumors can be removed or sent into remission with chemo, but (generally)not without lengthy invasive, physically draining treatment. If it turns out that this form of ginger as a treatment works out it will be a huge step in the fight against cancer.