Originally Posted by
imm2b
I agree Korean food are on the saltier side, because of lots of fermented veggies and fish are consumed. But, the high rates of stomach cancer is probably attibuted to Kimchi and the hot pepper in the Korean diet
Japanese food is much less spicy than, but just as salty as, Korean food...both cuisines feature pickled vegetables, salted fish etc. The incidence of stomach cancer for both Koreans and Japanese rank at the top of the charts:
http://www.wcrf.org/cancer_statistic...statistics.php
http://pmj.bmj.com/content/81/957/419.full.pdf
It's possible capsaicin (chili peppers) contribute to the effect but I think the link between salt intake and gastric cancer is better established. Much of the salt in the Korean diet does comes from kimchi...average daily sodium consumption is > 150% higher than the WHO recommended daily max.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2809241/