Pickled Food Increases Risks of Gastric Cancer

Print less to save trees. Print with 300 dpi (draft mode) to reduce toner or ink used.
Toner dust is harmful to health and ink chemicals are harmful to the environment.

Posted: Oct 2007 (Return to the original web page from this print version)

Pickled vegetables are popular in Asia. Photo: pickled white carrot

It is common to preserve vegetables by pickling in certain parts of Asia. These food items include cabbage, carrot, cucumber, turnip, eggplant, onion and squash etc.

There are two methods of preserving food by pickling:

1.	Soaking the food in a salty water, or simply apply dry salt to draw out water from the food (such as cabbage) and form a salty solution.

2.	Soaking the food in an acidic solution (such as citrus juice or vinegar), or naturally produce the acidic solution by anaerobic fermentation (i.e. fermentation in the absence of oxygen)

The salty and acidic solution would prevent further growth of bacteria. Sometimes, antimicrobial herbs and spices, such as mustard, garlic, cinnamon or cloves, are added.

Research linking pickled foods to higher risks of stomach cancer:

Kimchi (pickled cabbage) is a popular dish in Korea.

In a June 2005 study on gastric cancer risk conducted in South Korea, researchers found a 50% higher risk of stomach cancer among heavy consumers of kimchi (pickled cabbage).

High kimchi consumption may be responsible for the fact that gastric cancer rates in Korea and Japan are 2 times higher than that in the United States. However, the very high concentrations of salt in kimchi itself and the fish sauce used for flavoring may also be an issue.

The research report was published in June 2005 in the Beijing-based World Journal of Gastroenterology.(Related web page)

Health Tips:

1.	Take fresh vegetables instead of pickled ones