"stomach cancer" news and stories

This is the part where I plug my ears and mumble "bacon is healthy, bacon is healthy, bacon is healthy." Swedish researchers have reviewed 15 different studies and concluded that eating an extra ounce of salted or smoked meat a day can increase the risk of developing stomach cancer by 15 to 38 percent. The data comes from figures taken from over 4,000 individuals in the last 40 years, Reuters reported. The study appears in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. An abstract is available here.

If we actually paid attention to every single "news" item that warned us about cancer-causing foods, we'd probably only be able to drink water. Heck, someone somewhere at some point will probably determine that water causes cancer, too. I wouldn't be surprised.

Still, it's good to know that a common chemical used to flavor processed foods is linked to stomach, liver, and kidney cancers. The chemical is called methyleugenol and is found in common foods like candy, cookies, bubblegum, pumpkin pie, puddings, ice cream, apple butter, chutney, anise biscotti, French toast, ketchup, nutmeg and gingerbread. Although the chemical hasn't been officially found to cause cancer is humans (tests were done on laboratory rats), tests that were done from 1994 to 1998 on humans showed that 98 percent of participating adults had traces of methyleugenol in their blood.