Scientists have discovered that curcumin, a spice from the turmeric root, has the ability to slow and even stop the development of cancerous tumours in the breast – and this may offset the risk for post-menopausal women taking a combined estrogen and progestin HRT drug.

Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia found that the spice countered the cancer-causing effects of HRT by blocking the production of molecules that helped increase the blood supply to tumours in the breast. Animals that were given the spice had fewer tumours, and any that they did have grew and developed more slowly.

(Source: University of Missouri-Columbia).