Common condiment may increase risk of stomach cancer by 40%, study suggests trends now
A new study might make you think twice before reaching for the salt shaker at your next meal.
Nutritionists from the Center for Public Health at the University of Vienna discovered that people from the UK who added salt to most of their meals were 41 percent more likely to develop stomach cancer than those who used the topping sparingly.
Previous studies in China, Japan and Korea have linked a salty diet to stomach cancer - but this is one of the first to show the link in Westerners.
Though the Austrian study was merely observational, older studies have suggested that excess salt might erode the protective coating on the stomach, causing damage to the tissue there and leading to cancerous mutations.
Adding salt to most meals is associated with a 41 percent increased risk for developing stomach cancer, the researchers found.
'Our research shows the connection between the frequency of added salt and stomach cancer in Western countries too,' lead author Selma Kronsteiner-Gicevic, a nutritionist at University of Vienna said.
For many people, the amount of salt you're supposed to eat might come as a surprise. The FDA recommends that you eat no more than 2,300 mg of sodium daily- that's about.
That's about one teaspoon of table salt.
But because many food items contain more salt than people realize, and because they like to add salt on top of that, the average American gets about 3,400 mg daily, according to the agency.
For example, one can of Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup contains about 890 mg
