Rosemary – A Powerful Ally Against Breast Cancer

From ancient times, we have been using rosemary to add some seasoning to our food. But what we didn’t know is that it has a pretty impressive therapeutic force. Apart from giving flavor to our meals, rosemary aids in improving your memory, lowers your cholesterol levels, reduces muscular pains and spasms, promotes hair growth and maintains a healthy nervous and circulatory system.

Rosemary also has antioxidant, antimicrobial and antithrombotic properties. What’s even more impressive about this herb is that it has powerful effects against cancer cells, regardless if it is breast cancer, skin cancer, colon cancer or prostate cancer.

Rosemary is the Perfect Antioxidant

Rosemary’s anticancer properties are due to the powerful antioxidants it has within. It has high levels of rosmarinic acid, carnosic acid and alpha-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E), all of which are powerful antioxidants. Researchers discovered that rosemary also contains a compound called carnosol that aids in eliminating certain substances from the body which are responsible for tumor growth and breast cancer.

A research done in 2007 at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy from Timisoara, Romania showed that rosemary and other similar herbs reduce the oxidative stress by 95% in women with stage III and IV breast cancer.

The participants consumed a salad made of rosemary, sage, sea buckthorn berry, basil, vinegar and grape seed oil. Based on these results, they concluded that rosemary, together with other plants that are rich in antioxidants, could prove to be a great asset for women fighting with an advanced stage of breast cancer.

Rosemary as an Alternative to Tamoxifen

The health properties and anticancer potential of rosemary are backed up by other studies as well. Researchers discovered that rosemary is safer than tamoxifen, which is a chemotherapeutic medicine used to lower the estrogen levels. In 80% of the cases where breast cancer develops, the cancer cells grow mostly in response to the estrogen hormone. Most of the time, the medicine that is used to block the effects of estrogen is also the one that causes the most damage. This medicine is tamoxifen, whose side effects are incredibly numerous, including cancer. Actually, tamoxifen has been deemed so dangerous that the World Health Organization classified it as a carcinogen in 1990.

On the other end, rosemary was deemed much safer than its chemical counterpart, and it has the power to inactivate the estrogen hormones naturally and safely by means of stimulating the liver enzymes. In turn, the enzymes basically shut down the aggressive estrogen types.

Rosemary is a true wonder-herb that can be your best friend when fighting cancer, as well as nourish, tone and strengthen your body. But one should also be careful with its consumption. It is a very potent solution if it is ingested in extract form, so if you are prone to heavy periods or you’re pregnant, you should use it with caution. Rosemary has been known to promote heavy bleeding and affect your menstrual cycles.