This is a type of cancer that can develop from excessive salt consumption.

In Asian countries, where salt-rich foods are popular, a link between high salt intake and cancer has already been demonstrated.

How often do you add salt to your food?

stomach cancer This is affecting more and more young people. In the list of the most common types of cancer worldwide, stomach cancer is in fifth place. The risk of this tumor disease increases with age, but latest statistics show an alarming picture of the increase in the number of adults under 50 years of age.

Risk factors include tobacco and alcohol use, Helicobacter pylori infection, overweight and obesity. The fact that a very salty diet increases the risk of stomach cancer has already been demonstrated in studies involving Asian populations that eat frequently foods preserved in salt, very salty fish or very salty marinades and sauces.

“Our study shows an association between the frequency of added salt intake and stomach cancer even in Western countries,” emphasizes first author Selma Kronsteiner-Gicevic. “Through our research, we want to raise awareness about negative effects of extremely high salt intake and lay the foundation for measures to prevent stomach cancer,” concludes study leader Tilman Kühn.

So, liking salty foods is a problem. Although salt is essential for life, consuming too much of it can raise your blood pressure too much, which contributes to risk of heart or brain infarction and heart failure. But the risks don’t end there: new research confirms its link to stomach cancer for the first time and quantifies the risk of developing it.

In Asian countries, where salt-rich foods are popular, there has already been a proven link between high salt intake and stomach cancer. A long-term study carried out by MedUni Vienna in Austria showed for the first time that this risk is also reflected in Cancer statistics in Europe.

As shown in an analysis recently published in a trade journal Stomach cancerPeople who frequently add salt to their food are about 40% more likely to develop stomach cancer than those who do not use a salt shaker at the table.

Data from more than 470,000 adults from a large UK cohort study were analyzed. UK-Biobanj. Among other things, answers to the question: “How often do you add salt to your food?” were collected using a questionnaire method from 2006 to 2010.

Research team led by Selma Kronsteiner-Gicevic and Tilman Kühn from MedUni Vienna Public Health Center compared the results of a survey with urinary salt excretion and data from national cancer registries. It showed that people who said they always or often added salt to their food were 39 percent more likely to develop stomach cancer over a follow-up period of about 11 years than those who never or rarely added more salt to their food.

“Our results also withstood demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle factors and were equally valid for common comorbidities,” notes first author Selma Kronsteiner-Gitsevich, emphasizing the significance of the findings.