While salt intake has been linked to a plethora of medical conditions, including osteoporosis, hypertension, stroke, and heart disease, stomach cancer has now been added to the list. Stomach cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide.
Recent research has focused on the relationship between H. pylori, salt intake and stomach cancer. Although worldwide epidemiological studies, such as one in Japan confirm that salted, smoked and pickled foods, which are high in salt, are associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer,researchers aren’t sure exactly how salt, H. pylori and stomach cancer are linked.
ome scientists hypothesize that consuming a high salt diet can be especially risky for people who are chronically infected with H. pylori because a high salt environment facilitates the bacteria in the stomach to produce compounds that can damage the cells lining the stomach. A study published in the Journal of Bacteriology has demonstrated that “H. pylori responds to temporal changes in sodium chloride (salt) concentration and that growth, cell morphology, survival, and virulence factor expression are all altered by increased salt concentration.”
Furthermore, in a 2009 review of salt consumption and stomach cancer risk, published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, scientists suggest that reducing salt intake, combined with the eradication of H. pylori infection, is a promising approach for stomach cancer prevention in all parts of the world, especially in developing counties.
Scientists aren’t waiting for the results to advise Americans to consume less salt. On June 25 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a survey in its Morbidity and Mortality weekly report stating that Americans consume too much salt (sodium chloride). Recent recommendations suggest adults eat no more than 1500 mg of salt per day. Many Americans typically ingest roughly twice that amount.
For more information about how the BreathID breath test system is used to detect H. pylori at the point-of-care, please watch a short film on Urea Breath Tests or contact a company representative by completing the contact form.