Stomach Cancer

[julie rossberg]

Greetings, Everyone...

I'm in massage school and we have a pathology section including conditions we may encounter as massage therapists.  As an aside, I have gotten interested in fermentation, and am quite the enthusiast.  This term, we are learning about common pathologies of the digestive system.  In reading about stomach cancer, it says this (in excerpt):  ...Major risk factors for developing stomach cancer include (among other things) diets high in smoked food, salted fish and meats, and pickled vegetables.  

Stomach cancer rates in the US began to decline in the 30's, about the time refrigeration became accessible.  The average diet shifted away from smoked, pickled and salted foods, toward more fresh meats and fresh, canned or frozen vegetables.  In countries where stomach cancer is very prominent, the consumption of salted, smoked or pickled foods is significantly higher than it is in the US.  

My particular diet is high in fresh veggies and I tend toward pickled items as condiments.  I think my diet is ~high in salt, but I don't eat at restaurants or items one would cook from a mix, can or box so the amount of salt I actually get is likely not to be significantly higher than average.  I don't have high blood pressure.  

My question, though, is about someone like Sandor Katz, though.  He eats pickled everything, all the time?  That's at least my impression.  Do all of us pickle enthusiasts have an argument against this text book?  I'm curious to hear another perspective.  

THanks :-) 

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Julie Rossberg

541-338-0031

...set up the hook and get out of the way...

                                                      - Walter Libby

[Nicole Platte]

Yes. Most commercial preservation involves carcinogenic chemicals. Wild fermentation does not. 

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Nicole Platte
Burning Bush Gardens

[Stacie Boschma]

Hey Julie, as I read your post, I recalled that my dad used to continually point out that South Korea has a lot of stomach cancer as a result of eating diets rich in kimchi and other fermented foods. I never looked into how accurate that argument is, since the benefits of ferment are clear enough to me, but it sounds like you've got similar data.

I'll say this: While there may be a marginal increase in risk for stomach cancers from eating a diet that includes fermented vegetables (and there does seem to be evidence that this is true), the risk remains tiny and the benefits - especially for those of us in the developed world with our ultra-pasteurized, chemically preserved "food" products - are numerous. The immunological impact of having live craft food is immense and may impact conditions ranging from allergies and asthma to depression and Crohn's disease (I wrote a piece along these lines for a site called mnn.com: http://www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/stories/tune-up-your-immune-system-in-the-garden).
 

I googled "stomach cancer deaths US" and looked at one of the advocacy organizations' pages. It looks like about 10,000 Americans die each year from stomach cancer, at a median age of 75. I don't want to discount the size of that, but from my perspective, including fermented foods in the diet means 75 healthier years than not.

Obviously, people with a pronounced family history of stomach cancer might want to have this information and may reach a different conclusion. It's good data, and we're all better off when we know more.

Thanks,

Stacie

Stacie Boschma
Decatur, GA

[Nichole Fausey-Khosraviani]

Does any of your data specify whether or not vinegar is in use?  Lacto-fermentation makes things flourish and live.  Vinegar pickles and kills everything in it, so... you can see why it might be good for a bathroom cleanser, though I'd never use commercial vinegar for such a purpose, it wouldn't be great for preserving your body, if you know what I mean.  The amount of salt in one batch of sauerkraut, which fills my largest Pickl-it jar (so probably 3 litres) is about 2 Tablespoons, which is eaten over the course of several months. 

I love Sandy Katz, and he, I believe, is living proof of the healing and maintenance powers of lacto-fermentation.  He's been living well with AIDS for years and years. 

I wonder if they teased this data out and can show how each of these foods affect the body instead of lumping them all in together.  Smoked meats, fish and pickles... Further, there are only a few brands of lacto-fermented pickles on the market.  Indeed, I can only think of 1, and that's Bubbie's.

Nichole

[gyps...@gmail.com]

Julie, Here are my thoughts -re the lacto fermented veggies that Sandor and all the rest of us into lacto fermenting eat - the fermented veg is not a "main" component of our diet... they are to be eaten as condiments not main courses.  And re the high incidence of stomach cancer in cultures who eat lots of kimche... my question would be - I wonder if it has more to do with the excessively high amounts of really hot spices rather than the ferment itself....  I don't know how the human body could protect itself against such an amount of super hot spice that is eaten year after year after year... 

blessings,
Marie

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