Aunt Zhou is 74 years old this year, has lived in the mountains for most of her life, has always attached great importance to health, cooks by herself, eats less greasy and more vegetables, and exercises a lot every day.
But in the past six months, Aunt Zhou felt physically and mentally exhausted, and her weight had also dropped a little, and she was not at ease at first, until recently, the frequency of stool increased, and blood in the stool appeared, and she realized that something was wrong and hurried to the hospital.
After colonoscopy, a mass was found, and a biopsy suggested rectal adenocarcinoma. Aunt Zhou couldn't accept it at all, she ate the vegetables she grew and drank the water from the well, how could she get digestive tract cancer?
After some understanding, the doctor learned that Aunt Zhou lived in the mountains and planted a lot of vegetables and couldn't eat them all, so she often pickled them for a long time, and the meals were eaten for several days as soon as they were served, and she often ate overnight dishes.
1. The Lancet: This is the kind of killer of Chinese diet, not oil and sugar
A study published in The Lancet on mortality and disease burden caused by diets in 195 countries and regions around the world showed that the mainland led the list of deaths caused by poor diets.
The bad eating habits that cause the highest mortality rate are not excessive intake of oil and sugar in the traditional cognition, but a high-sodium diet!
Sodium is one of the essential elements in the body, which has the effect of regulating water/osmotic pressure, maintaining acid-base balance, and enhancing neuromuscular excitability. However, this does not mean that the more sodium, the better, once the intake of too much sodium, it will bring all-round damage to the body.
Pickled food is the "big producer" of salt, and in order to keep it for a long time, a large amount of salt needs to be added during processing.
The per capita salt intake recommended by the mainland dietary guidelines should be <5g, and eating pickled foods without reducing the intake of other salts will definitely exceed this standard, which will threaten health.
Zhao Jianpei, chief physician of the Department of Anorectal Surgery of Ningbo Second Hospital, reminded that the incidence of bowel cancer is not only related to a high-fat, high-protein and low-fiber diet, but also may lead to bowel cancer if you eat pickled smoked food and overnight dishes for a long time.
2. Eating pickled food often will really increase the risk of cancer
In April 2023, researchers from the Zhejiang University School of Medicine team published a study in BMC Medicine. The study collected 10-year health data of more than 440,000 subjects aged 30~79 in 10 regions of the mainland, and all subjects did not suffer from chronic diseases when participating in the study.
Through analysis, it was found that those who regularly ate pickles had a significantly increased risk of digestive tract cancer and hemorrhagic stroke.
Specifically, people who eat pickles ≥ 4 days a week have a 13% increased risk of death from gastrointestinal cancers such as gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, and colorectal cancer, and the risk of death from esophageal cancer increases by 45%.
Why is there such a big health risk associated with eating pickles?
Because it has a large amount of salt and nitrite inside, high-salt foods will bring adverse damage to the gastric mucosa and esophageal mucosa, increasing the risk of cancer, and nitrite is not carcinogenic, but it will further produce nitrosamines when it enters the body, nitrosamines are clear carcinogens, which will significantly increase the risk of cancer in the body.
In addition to increasing the risk of cancer in the body, long-term intake of preserved foods also brings these risks.
1. Increased risk of high blood pressure
Eating preserved foods for a long time can cause the body to consume too much sodium, and diluting sodium requires a lot of water. A large amount of water entering the blood vessels will lead to an increase in blood vessel pressure, which can easily cause blood pressure to rise.
2. It may cause poisoning
Ingestion of a large amount of pickled food in a short period of time may lead to nitrite poisoning, induce the occurrence of toxic methemoglobinemia, manifested as chest tightness, dyspnea, headache, dizziness and shortness of breath, etc., and may be life-threatening in severe cases.
3. The bones slowly become brittle
When there is a surplus of sodium ions in the body, some calcium ions are carried out of the body. Regular intake of preserved foods can lead to excessive loss of calcium ions, which poses a threat to bone health.
3. Eat pickles healthily and keep in mind the 4 key points
The unhealthy factors of pickled vegetables are mainly concentrated in the problem of high salt and nitrite, but we do not need to talk about the color change of pickles, the key lies in how to eat them? As long as the frequency and amount are controlled and enjoyed correctly, we can harvest delicious and healthy.
1. Control the amount of salt reduction
Reducing the amount of salt in other foods can also be used to reduce the amount of salt in other foods while eating pickles.
2. Buy old pickles
The nitrite content of pickled food will be higher in a few days to ten days, so it is not recommended to eat it at this time. It is generally recommended to wait 20 days before consuming the food, when the nitrite content in the food will be significantly reduced.
3. Eat with fresh melons and fruits
While eating pickles, you can add more fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C, which can inhibit nitrite production and reduce the side effects of nitrite on the body.
4. These groups of people are not suitable for eating
People who suffer from high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and chronic kidney disease must strictly control salt intake, and it is best not to eat preserved food;
It is also not recommended for people who are positive for Helicobacter pylori infection, otherwise it will aggravate the damage to the gastric mucosa and further increase the risk of gastric cancer;
People with a family history of gastrointestinal cancer are also advised not to eat pickles.
Although pickled vegetables can be stored for a long time, they are also delicious and suitable for home, but it should be noted that the amount must be controlled, not eaten at meals, eaten every day, and people with the above physical diseases should also try not to eat.
Resources:
[1] "The "biggest killer" on the table of Chinese is not oil and sugar! This is the top three ways to eat with a lethal rate, change it quickly after reading it.I am a big doctor official micro 2023-08-16
[2] "Family, pickled vegetables may really cause cancer, eat less!", Popular Science China 2023-09-02
[3] "If you love to eat pickled food, will you get cancer?", Sichuan Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2022-02-08
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