Holistic Healing

Nutritionists have long been interested in the dynamics of telomere length in the body, and how telomeres figure in to human health and life expectancy. Telomeres were first discovered in 1973 by Alexey Olovnikov.

He found that the tiny units of DNA at the very end of each chromosome—the telomere—shorten with time because they cannot replicate completely each time the cell divides and they may be the most powerful biological clock that has yet to be identified.

Hence, as you get older, your telomeres get shorter and shorter. Eventually, DNA replication and cell division ceases completely, at which point you die. However, a growing body of research is showing that certain nutrients play a huge role in protecting telomere length; greatly affecting how long you live.

The statistics are pretty staggering, as half of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives. The biggest contributing lifestyle factors according to research are obesity and smoking. And as many as one-third of the most common cancer cases could be prevented through clean eating, exercise and good weight management.

The nutrient in the news is turmeric, which is no surprise as there are so many research studies that show it has powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and antioxidant properties.

Research has found that the intense taste of spices is associated with high concentrations of antioxidants and other powerful substances that have been proven to stop cancer in its tracks. Here are seven common kitchen spices that are among the top natural cancer-fighting compounds available. Most of them are probably already in your home and ready to use.