Menschen, die angaben, ihrer Nahrung immer oder häufig Salz hinzuzufügen, hatten über einen Beobachtungszeitraum von etwa 11 Jahren ein um 39 % höheres Risiko, an Magenkrebs zu erkranken, als diejenigen, die ihrer Nahrung nie oder selten eine zusätzliche Prise Salz hinzufügten
https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/web/en/ueber-uns/news/2024/news-im-mai-2024/frequent-salting-of-food-increases-the-risk-of-stomach-cancer-1/
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> In Asian countries, where high-salt foods are popular, the link between high salt consumption and stomach cancer has already been proven. A long-term study by MedUni Vienna has now shown for the first time that this risk is also reflected in
> Data from more than 470,000 adults from the large-scale British cohort study “UK-Biobank” was analysed. Among other things, the answers to the question: “How often do you add salt to your food?” were collected by questionnaire between 2006 and 2010. The research team led by Selma Kronsteiner-Gicevic and Tilman Kühn from MedUni Vienna’s Center for Public Health compared the results of the survey with salt excretion in urine and with data from national cancer registries.
Paper: [Adding salt to food at table as an indicator of gastric cancer risk among adults: a prospective study | Gastric Cancer](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10120-024-01502-9)
I’ve been glancing at the article and study. One thing I can’t get past, how are they quantifying the amount of salt? All I can see is them asking “do you add salt?” and how often. What’s a pinch? Don’t most things in excess have a tendency to cause cancer?
I’ll roll those dice for the *flavor*.
As always with headlines like this, it’s important to know that 39% more likely takes you from a small chance to a slightly higher but still small chance. Different sources put it lifetime risk at 1 in 100 to 1 in 150, though the paper itself implies 1 in 736.
Globally, you’re more likely to die of an STI than that. Or a car wreck.
“Over 10.9 years of follow-up, 640 incident gastric cancer cases were recorded from our 471,144 participants.”
I can’t find it right now, but I’d be curious to see the diet of those 640 individuals.
“Participants (Table [1](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10120-024-01502-9#Tab1)) reporting “always” adding salt to food at table were more likely to be male, non-white, to have a lower education level and a higher Townsend deprivation index; they were more likely to be a past/current smoker, and to have high alcohol (≥ 16 g of ethanol/day) intakes.”
Making an assumption here, but from the above I’d guess it was highly salted to begin with and ultra processed foods.
It’s either that or I get a salt lick from the animal feed supply store. Just let me have my salt, I’d die at the end of a flavorless life anyways.
There’s only so many things we can bow our head to as personal blame in a society of severely lacking healthcare. I’m sure that it’s extra salt that’s causing excess deaths and not, oh say… no checkups and preventative healthcare, or proper cancer health care after things get so bad that the cancer is finally caught.
It’s a pretty weak association and hugely confounded, like every other uncontrolled dietary study. However, this study has a strong point in its favor that the association does not diminish when controlling for observed confounders. Assuming salt intake really does drive the risk though, it’s still much more likely to kill you through cardiovascular problems than cancer.
So I should stop telling people I put salt on my food
I’d be curious to see the data from the same group about daily sugar intake …
Can’t we enjoy anything
I wonder if researchers ever find anything beneficial.
if i had to guess it’s because of all the added sodium in modern foods
From now on, I’m saying that I rarely add salt to my food. I can’t afford the risk of saying otherwise.