Ginger root supplement may help cut colon cancer risk

Ginger supplements could help reduce signs of inflammation of the large intestine, a condition linked to colon cancer, according to new research.

Suzanna M. Zick, N.D., M.P.H., a research assistant professor at the University of Michigan Medical School, and colleagues enrolled 30 patients and randomly assigned them to two grams of ginger root supplements per day or placebo for 28 days.

After 28 days, the researchers measured standard levels of colon inflammation and found statistically significant reductions in most of these markers, and trends toward significant reductions in others.

Inflammation has been implicated in prior studies as a precursor to colon cancer, but another trial would be needed to see how ginger root affects that risk, Zick said.

“We need to apply the same rigor to the sorts of questions about the effect of ginger root that we apply to other clinical trial research,” she said.

“Interest in this is only going to increase as people look for ways to prevent cancer that are nontoxic, and improve their quality of life in a cost-effective way,” she added.

The study has been published in Cancer Prevention Research.