Condition

Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is a cancer of the colon or rectum, where cells in the bowel lining grow out of control. Probiotics and ginger have moderate evidence behind them, though probiotic trials on bloating gave mixed results, and a small study of 30 people found ginger extract improved a measure of colorectal cancer risk. That ginger study involved people at normal risk, so it says little about those already in treatment.

Sources: PMID 21990307

Supplements studied: 7
Graded outcomes: 4
Trials: 10
People studied: 2,206

Evidence by supplement

Strong
Moderate
Limited
Very limited

7 supplements

Probiotics

Probiotics: outcomes studied for Colorectal Cancer
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Studies	People
	Bloating Mixed effect			344 people
	Diarrhea Symptoms	Improves (the measure goes down)	4 studies	408 people
Studies that measured diarrhea symptoms Oral probiotic supplementation to alleviate diarrhea induced by fluoropyrimidines or irinotecan-based chemotherapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Complement Ther Med · PMID 39993479 Evaluation of the efficacy of probiotics in the chemoradiotherapy of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.BMC Gastroenterol · PMID 40301781 Efficacy and safety of Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 for the treatment of pediatric acute diarrhea in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Front Cell Infect Microbiol · PMID 40535538 and 1 more on the Probiotics page

Creatine

Creatine: outcomes studied for Colorectal Cancer
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People
	Muscle Mass Small Improvement	Improves (the measure goes up)	Small effect	5 studies	30 people
Studies that measured muscle mass The Effects of Creatine Supplementation Combined with Resistance Training on Regional Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · PMID 37432300 The Effect of Creatine Supplementation on Resistance Training-Based Changes to Body Composition: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.J Strength Cond Res · PMID 39074168 Effects of creatine supplementation on nutritional status, muscle function and quality of life in patients with colorectal cancer--a double blind randomised controlled trialClin Nutr · PMID 16701923 and 2 more on the Creatine page
	Subjective Well-Being	Improves (the measure goes up)		3 studies	30 people
Studies that measured subjective well-being Effect of creatine supplementation and sleep deprivation, with mild exercise, on cognitive and psychomotor performance, mood state, and plasma concentrations of catecholamines and cortisolPsychopharmacology · PMID 16416332 Creatine supplementation, sleep deprivation, cortisol, melatonin and behaviorPhysiol Behav · PMID 17046034 Creatine supplementation improves muscle strength in patients with congestive heart failurePharmazie · PMID 16599263

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Colorectal Cancer Risk: improves
Inflammation: changes; see studies

Ginger (Zingiber officinale): outcomes studied for Colorectal Cancer
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People
	Colorectal Cancer Risk Small Improvement	Improves (the measure goes down)	Small effect	1 study	30 people
Studies that measured colorectal cancer risk Phase II study of the effects of ginger root extract on eicosanoids in colon mucosa in people at normal risk for colorectal cancerCancer Prev Res · PMID 21990307
	Inflammation	Changes; see studies		1 study	30 people
Studies that measured inflammation Comparing analgesic effects of a topical herbal mixed medicine with salicylate in patients with knee osteoarthritisPak J Biol Sci · PMID 22308653

Red Clover Extract

Estrogen
IGF-1: improves
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin: improves

Red Clover Extract: outcomes studied for Colorectal Cancer
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People
	Estrogen No effect		NoneNo effect		34 people
	IGF-1	Improves (the measure goes up)		2 studies	71 people
Studies that measured igf-1 No effect of red clover-derived isoflavone intervention on the insulin-like growth factor system in women at increased risk of colorectal cancerCancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev · PMID 18842999 Isolated isoflavones do not affect the circulating insulin-like growth factor system in men at increased colorectal cancer riskJ Nutr · PMID 17237315
	Sex Hormone Binding Globulin	Improves (the measure goes up)		1 study	34 people
Studies that measured sex hormone binding globulin The effect of Promensil, an isoflavone extract, on menopausal symptomsClimacteric · PMID 11910671
	IGF Binding Protein	Improves (the measure goes up)			71 people

Glutamine

Insulin: changes; see studies
Blood glucose: worsens
C-Reactive Protein (CRP): improves

Glutamine: outcomes studied for Colorectal Cancer
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People
	Insulin	Changes; see studies		2 studies	33 people
Studies that measured insulin Oral glutamine supplementation during preoperative radiochemotherapy in patients with rectal cancer: a randomised double blinded, placebo controlled pilot studyClin Nutr · PMID 21733605 A randomized cross-over study of the metabolic and hormonal responses following two preoperative conditioning drinksNutrition · PMID 21126861
	Blood glucose Small Detriment	Worsens (the measure goes up)	Small effect		33 people
	C-Reactive Protein (CRP)	Improves (the measure goes down)			33 people
	Cortisol	Improves (the measure goes down)			33 people
	Inflammation	Improves (the measure goes down)			33 people
	Testosterone	Improves (the measure goes up)			33 people

Curcumin

Colorectal Cancer Risk: improves

Curcumin: outcomes studied for Colorectal Cancer
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Colorectal Cancer Risk	Improves (the measure goes down)		2 studies	170 people
Studies that measured colorectal cancer risk Upregulation of p53 expression in patients with colorectal cancer by administration of curcuminCancer Invest · PMID 21314329 Phase IIa clinical trial of curcumin for the prevention of colorectal neoplasiaCancer Prev Res · PMID 21372035

Reishi

Colorectal Cancer Risk: improves

Reishi: outcomes studied for Colorectal Cancer
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Colorectal Cancer Risk	Improves (the measure goes down)		1 study	198 people
Studies that measured colorectal cancer risk A water-soluble extract from culture medium of Ganoderma lucidum mycelia suppresses the development of colorectal adenomasHiroshima J Med Sci · PMID 20518254

Key findings

BloatingProbiotics
Muscle MassCreatineImproves (the measure goes up)
Colorectal Cancer RiskGinger (Zingiber officinale)Improves (the measure goes down)

The Colorectal Cancer Supportive Care protocol

2 primary supplements · 6 supporting supplements

ProbioticsMulti-strain formula, 10–50 billion CFU daily
Curcumin500–2,000 mg daily (with piperine or phospholipid formulation for absorption)

See the full protocol

Studies cited

1 study from PubMed

Effect of kefir on the quality of life of patients being treated for colorectal cancerOncol Nurs Forum · PMID 19887347