Common seasoning may increase the risk of stomach cancer by 40%, research suggests

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 of the Center for Public Health University of Vienna found that people from Britain 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.

Although the Austrian study was purely observational, older studies have suggested that excess salt could erode the protective layer on the stomach, damaging the tissue there and leading to cancer mutations.

“Our research also shows the link between the frequency of added salt and stomach cancer in Western countries,” says lead author Selma Kronsteiner-Gicevic, a nutritionist at the University of Vienna.

For many people, the amount of salt you should eat may come as a surprise. The FDA recommends that you eat no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, which is approximately.

That’s about one teaspoon of table salt.

But because many foods contain more salt than people realize, and because they like to add salt to them, the average American consumes about 3,400 mg per day, according to the agency.

For example, one can of Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup contains approximately 890 mg of salt.

It may seem harmless to add a little sprinkle for flavor, but consistently overdoing your salt can be harmful, the researchers wrote.

To reach these conclusions, researchers from the University of Vienna examined a database of 471,144 adults in the United Kingdom called the UK Biobank.

This showed that over a period of eleven years, heavy salters were 41 percent more likely to develop stomach cancer than people who rarely added salt to their meals.

This finding held true even when the researchers eliminated other variables, such as age, socioeconomic status, and other lifestyle choices, such as alcohol and tobacco use.

Some of the early symptoms of stomach cancer are easy to miss, such as bloating, gas and stomach upset.

Drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco have been shown to significantly increase the risk of developing stomach cancer American Cancer Society.

About 26,890 new cases of stomach cancer will be diagnosed in America in 2024, the ACS predicts. Of those, they estimate that about 10,880 people will die.

If caught early, stomach cancer has a high survival rate: Someone with early stomach cancer is 75 percent more likely than someone without cancer to live another five years, according to the NIH.

But as it spreads, that percentage drops sharply to 35 percent.

What’s even worse is that this disease can easily progress before you even realize it because many of the symptoms are easily overlooked.

Some early symptoms include bloating, upset stomach, and indigestion. All the same characteristics that you can feel after a particularly spicy or rich dinner.

That’s why researchers are keen to raise awareness about your salt intake so you can be aware of your cancer risk, said Tilman Kühn, another researcher from the University of Vienna who contributed to the study.

“With our research we want to increase awareness of the negative effects of extremely high salt consumption and provide a basis for measures to prevent stomach cancer,” says Professor Kühn.