Most people know the link between a high salt diet and high blood pressure but salt is in the news again this time its a link between a high consumption and stomach cancer. This has been known for a few years but most people are unaware of this link.
Stomach cancer has a poor prognosis, it is a nasty disease from having nursed patients with it to watching my own father die with this condition. From the time the disease was diagnosed till his death he managed to live for 12 months and it was so sad to watch my handsome and muscular dad wither away in front of my eyes. Stomach cancer is often not diagnosed until its well established and in my own father's case it was inoperable and had spread to his liver, the only symptoms he had was tiredness and loss of weight and what he described a bit of heartburn periodically.
I don't aim to cause alarm here but if you have indigestion, lack of appetite, a feeling of fullness, bleeding, partially digested in your stools, vomit and vomiting quite regularly have it checked out by your doctor, it may well not be stomach cancer and something innocuous but better to be safe.
It's good to be armed with information so we can all take steps to maintain good health and that includes dietary information. The main culprits are processed foods get into the routine of reading labels. We do need a little salt for good health but salt in present naturally in food you don't need to add it and by and large and I have seen this many times, people sprinkling salt onto their food before they have even tasted it. After a while your taste buds will get used to it and you will find you will be more aware of the other flavours in food.
Studies have shown that a chronic H. pylori infection is closely associated with salt intake as salt has been found to increase the grown and action of this bacteria, thus increasing the risk of cancer. It is also thought salt can act as an irritant and can inflame the stomach lining which makes it susceptible to causing cancer. Statistically deaths from stomach cancer are higher in countries where people have a preference for salty food and salt preserved meat and fish. A reduction therefore in salt may reduce H. pylori infection and so reduce the incidence of this distressing cancer.
Adults are advised to consume no more than 6g salt per day (about one teaspoon). Current intake is about 9g per day - thats 50 per cent higher than is recommended for good health. Babies and children should have less salt than adults. High salt intake in babies can be especially dangerous, as their kidneys cannot cope with large amounts.
Traffic light labelling on foods 'could help cut stomach cancers linked to salt'
- Charity calls for green labels on foods low in salt, amber for medium content and red for salty products
- One in seven cases of stomach cancer could be avoided by cutting salt intake
One in seven cases of stomach cancer in the UK could be avoided by reducing salt intake to recommended levels, research suggests.
Too much salt can promote cancer by damaging the stomach lining, and Britons consume an average of 8.6 grams each a day - 43 per cent higher than the maximum recommended amount.
The World Cancer Research Fund is calling for a standardised form of colour-coded 'traffic light' labelling on foods, which it says would help consumers to better control the amount of salt, sugar and fat they take.
Excess: Too much salt can promote stomach cancer, researchers have found
Kate Mendoza, head of information at the charity, said: 'Stomach cancer is difficult to treat successfully because most cases are not caught until the disease is well established.
'This places even greater emphasis on making lifestyle choices to prevent the disease occurring in the first place - such as cutting down on salt intake and eating more fruit and vegetables.'
Ms Mendoza added: 'Because around three-quarters of the salt we consume is already in processed food when we buy it, WCRF would like to see traffic light labelling on the front of food and drink packaging to give clear guidance on the levels of salt as well as sugar, fat and saturated fat.
'Standardised labelling among retailers and manufacturers - rather than the different voluntary systems currently in place - would help consumers make better informed and healthy choices.'
Better: Cases of stomach cancer could be cut if food labelling were improved, the World Cancer Research Fund claims. (Picture posed by model)
Cutting salt intake to six grams a day could prevent 1,050 of these cases, according to the WCRF.
Excess salt is also linked to high blood pressure, the main cause of strokes and a significant cause of heart disease, as well as osteoporosis and kidney disease.
A Department of Health spokesman said: 'We already know too much salt can lead to conditions such as heart disease and stroke.
'That is why we are taking action through the Responsibility Deal to help reduce the salt in peoples' diets.
'And we are looking at clearer salt labelling on foods as part of our consultation on front of pack labelling.
'We keep these findings under review alongside other emerging research in the field.'
Good example: Some foods already have traffic light labels, but campaigners want to see the system standardised
