Salting Habits Linked to Higher Stomach Cancer Risk, but Cause Unclear

Do we need to eat less salt to prevent cancer? According to a new study, the answer is maybe.

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Always reach for the saltshaker before taking your first bite? A new study may have you thinking twice.

Researchers found 41 percent higher odds of stomach cancer among people who habitually seasoned their food with salt compared to those who kept the shaker on the shelf.

Salt Linked to Stomach Cancer in Europe for 1st Time

It’s not new information that added salt increases the risk of stomach cancer. Asian population studies previously found this association with salted meat and pickled vegetables.

The new study, however, is the first to identify this link in Europeans. “Our research shows the connection between the frequency of added salt and stomach cancer in Western countries too,” lead author Selma Kronsteiner-Gicevic, who holds a science doctorate in nutrition and is a senior postdoctoral researcher at the Medical University of Vienna, said in a press statement.

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The study analyzed over 470,000 participants from UK Biobank, a publicly available biomedical database containing genetic, health, and behavioral information.

Researchers evaluated how frequently adding salt to meals related to gastric cancer risk based on touchscreen questionnaires from 2006 to 2010. They estimated 24-hour sodium excretion using INTERSALT (a 1988 comparative study on electrolyte secretion and blood pressure) formulas and linked the results to cancer registries. Body mass index (BMI), diuretic use, and H. pylori infection, a bacterial infection in the stomach linked to gastric cancer, were factored in.

Over 11 years, participants who always added salt had a 41 percent higher stomach cancer risk than those who never or rarely did, according to the results published in Gastric Cancer.

This study conducted a meta-analysis pooling data from multiple sources, demonstrating an increased gastric cancer risk associated with higher salt consumption. While the gastrointestinal literature suggests a probable link between added salt and cancer, the extent of risk remains challenging to determine conclusively from observational data alone, Dr. David Purow, who is with Huntington Hospital in New York and Northwell Health’s eastern regional director for gastrointestinal endoscopy, told The Epoch Times.

Stomach Cancer Emerges at Earlier Ages

The incidence of early-onset gastric cancer, which affects younger people, has been increasing steadily. In 2019, it accounted for more than 30 percent of all stomach cancers in the United States. Although the average age of stomach cancer diagnosis is 68, some doctors are now seeing patients in their 40s and 50s.

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The disease is treatable when caught early, with a reasonably good prognosis. The five-year survival rate for early localized stomach cancer is 75 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute. However, that figure drops to 35 percent for cancers that have spread beyond the stomach.

The problem is that a diagnosis is frequently made “a little bit later” because the stomach’s position means a tumor can occur without causing significant symptoms, Dr. Purow said.  “Caught later, it’s still very treatable with a combination of chemotherapy and surgery,” he added.

Signs and symptoms include increased upper abdominal pain, feeling full more quickly than usual, nausea, vomiting, and black, tarry stool, which could indicate bleeding from a stomach tumor, he said. Unexplained weight loss in conjunction with a change in appetite is another major sign.

Many Foods Contain Added Salt

People should consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium (salt is 40 percent sodium) or about 1 teaspoon daily, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, Americans’ average intake is about 3,400 milligrams per day, often without adding any table salt.

Sodium is frequently added to processed foods for several reasons, such as to serve as a preservative, flavor enhancer, and leavening agent in baking.

More than 70 percent of the sodium we consume comes from processed and restaurant foods, according to the American Heart Association. Roughly 65 percent comes from food bought at retail stores, and about 25 percent comes from restaurants, where it can be hard to know how much sodium has been added, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.

The CDC recommends selecting lower-sodium foods when possible and cooking more at home to control sodium intake better.