Some Ginger a Day Keeps the Cancer Away?

A new study published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research suggests that a daily dose of ginger can help lower a person's risk of developing colorectal cancer, reports MyHealthNewsDaily's Joseph Castro. The researchers found that the ginger reduces colon inflammation — study participants who took the supplement had a 28 percent decrease in colorectal inflammation than those who didn't, Castro says. Previous studies have shown that people with high levels of rectal inflammation are at a higher risk for developing cancer. Though the results are promising, the researchers caution that this was a small study with 30 participants and further research is needed to figure out how much ginger a person would need to take to reduce their cancer risk, and if the ginger acts the same way as COX-2 inhibitors do to reduce inflammation, and whether it then shares that drug class' downside of increased risk of cardiovascular disease, Castro says.