Why does eating a lot of salt cause stomach cancer?

Salt is the main spice in everyday dishes and is an essential mineral for the body. However, the use of too much salt causes many unpredictable consequences for health.

Information from the Clinical Nutrition Center of K Hospital said that consuming a lot of salt will lead to bad effects on the body as follows:

Stomach cancer: There is much debate about the relationship between salt and stomach cancer. Through many studies, scientists have concluded that moderate or high salt consumption will increase the risk of stomach cancer, similar to eating a lot of pickled and pickled foods. Several mechanisms are believed to suggest that salt increases the risk of persistent Helicobacter Pylori (HP) infection, which synergistically increases the risk of gastric cancer. In addition, experimental studies also show that salt accelerates cell proliferation and endogenous mutations, damages the gastric mucosal barrier at high concentrations.

Cardiovascular disease: High salt consumption is strongly associated with high blood pressure. When eating too much salt will increase the amount of sodium in the blood and destroy the balance of sodium and potassium, thereby reducing the kidney’s ability to filter water. All affect blood pressure. Thereby indirectly affecting cardiovascular diseases. Studies have also shown that when reducing salt consumption by 2.5g/day, cardiovascular events are also reduced by 20%.

Kidney disease: High salt intake leads to many changes such as hypertension, increased proteinuria, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction. These changes are risk factors for the development of kidney disease. Some studies conducted to reduce salt in the diet to help reduce the excretion of albumin and protein in the urine of people with hypertension, kidney failure, diabetes. Reducing salt may slow the progression of chronic kidney disease.

Osteoporosis: Eating a lot of salt leads to increased urinary calcium excretion, the body is calcium deficient, so it increases calcium absorption in the intestines and mobilizes calcium from the bones, thereby leading to osteoporosis. A study in a group of postmenopausal women found a decrease in hip bone density in those who excrete a lot of sodium in the urine.

Overweight and obesity: The basis of the association is that when you eat a lot of salt, it makes the body thirsty, which can lead to an increased use of sugary drinks. In addition, foods containing a lot of salt are often high in fat and high in energy, and have an attractive taste that makes people eat more. From there, it directly increases energy intake, causing overweight and obesity. On the other hand, animal experiments also show that eating a lot of salt causes adipose tissue to enlarge, increase blood leptin, and contribute to an increase in white fat mass. Observational studies in children and adults also show that high salt intake increases the prevalence of overweight and obesity, and increases body fat mass.

In short, people should eat salt in moderation. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the amount of salt for adults is less than 5g/day. Studies show that most people consume an average of 9-12g of salt per day.

An individual can reduce the amount of salt in his or her home diet by not adding salt when preparing foods, leaving no salt on the table, reducing the intake of high-salt foods, and choosing foods that are low in salt. .

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