According to data from the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN), We Spaniards consume on average 9.8 grams of salt per day, which represents a “much higher” figure. which specialists recommend to avoid health problems.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that salt consumption not exceed 5 grams per day. Or what is the same, a dessert spoon. The Heart Foundation specifies that we only need 1.25 grams of salt per day.
And, although excessive sodium consumption is the main risk factor for suffering from high blood pressure, new research shows that it can also cause stomach cancer, a type of tumor that usually has a poor prognosis. It is difficult to detect early, and when it is done it is usually very advanced.
The results of this study, published in the scientific journal Gastric Center, explain that until now the risk of stomach cancer due to salt abuse was only known in the Asian population. Until now, research “in Westerners was scarce.”
40% chance of suffering from stomach cancer
To reach this conclusion, the team led by Selma Kronsteiner-Gicevic and Tilma Kühn, from the MedUni Public Health center in Vienna, analyzed data from more than 470,000 people in the United Kingdom, who answered the question: “How often do you add salt to your food?” When comparing the results with salt excretion in urine:
People who always or very frequently added salt to food were 39% more likely to develop gastric cancer (over a period of eleven years), compared to those who never or rarely added a pinch of salt to their meals.
Dr. Kronsteiner-Gicevic explains that “our results also withstood consideration of demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors and were equally valid for prevalent comorbidities.”
With this study, which confirms that the consumption of added salt has a close relationship with stomach cancer, we want to “raise awareness about its negative effects and lay the foundations for preventing this tumor.”
Stomach cancer risk factors
In addition to salt, risk factors for gastric cancer are:
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Helicobacter pylori infection, especially if the infection is chronic and difficult to eradicate.
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Smoke.
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Sex: this is a more common cancer in men than in women.
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Age. It is a more common type of tumor in patients over 50 years of age.
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Have a first-degree family history with gastric cancer.
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Race: it is more frequent and prevalent in Asians than in Westerners.
Symptoms and diagnosis of stomach cancer
One of the problems with stomach cancer is that in some cases it is completely asymptomatic, and when it does cause some discomfort, it is very nonspecific and can be confused with other symptoms. symptoms of other digestive pathologies such as ulcers or gastritis.
Among the most common symptoms, digestive specialists list:
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Indigestion
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Weightloss
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Changes in intestinal rhythms
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Lack of appetite
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Nausea
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Vomiting
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Blood in stool or vomit
Since these symptoms are so non-specific, specialists recommend that anyone who suffers from them should see a doctor in order to determine what is happening.