Enjoy pepper to fight cancer

Next time a waiter armed with a giant pepper mill asks if you'd like some fresh-ground over your salad, say, "Yes, please!" In this Health Smarts video, Robin Miller, MD, reveals how black pepper may help prevent cancer.

Transcript

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Researchers think that in the future, piperine might even be used in cancer prevention drugs. For now, it's worth sprinkling on the black stuff liberally

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and often. [UPBEAT MUSIC]

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Hi. I'm Dr. Miller with a tasty way to fight cancer. Next time a waiter armed with a giant pepper mill

00:25

asks whether you'd like some fresh ground over your salad, say, yes, please. In a recent lab study, the ingredient

00:32

responsible for pepper's pungent zing, called piperine, appeared to stop cancer cells from growing and dividing.

00:39

The study focused on breast stem cells, amazing tissue-repairing cells that can morph into dangerous cancer cells if their DNA is damaged.

00:47

When researchers mixed piperine with these stem cells, the compound inactivated the cells with early signs of trouble.

00:54

They reduced the size of rogue cell colonies and silenced signals involved in making cells live far longer than normal.

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Cells that live too long are a precursor to cancer. The best news of all-- in the lab study, piperine left healthy cells alone.

01:09

Researchers think that in the future, piperine might even be used in cancer prevention drugs. For now, it's worth sprinkling on the black stuff liberally

01:17

and often. For more ways to nourish your health, watch and share all our smart health tips right here.