When I was a child, I heard that 'eating pickles causes cancer', is it true or false? See the real scientific explanation

Eating pickled vegetables is a tradition in northern China. It dates back to the time when society had not yet begun to develop. It was difficult to eat fresh vegetables in winter in northern China, and vegetables could not be preserved. In the past, it was the winter food in the north. Even now, pickles are the most common dish in many regions!

The pickled vegetables are sour and delicious, which makes many friends intoxicated. However, cabbage is right and wrong! In recent years, there have been a lot of unhealthy rumors about pickles. Everyone must have heard of what can induce high blood pressure, coronary arteriosclerosis, etc. Moreover, there are also rumors that frequent intake of pickles in large quantities may cause cancer!

Small pickled vegetables actually cause cancer, is there any scientific basis for this?

The World Health Organization has a unique institution called the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The main work of experts and researchers here is to study and discover substances that may cause cancer. According to different carcinogenic properties, carcinogens are classified into different levels.

According to the content of the article published by it, pickled vegetables are indeed classified as carcinogens, which belong to class 2b carcinogens. The so-called class 2b carcinogens means that there is limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans, and no obvious carcinogenic properties have been shown in animal experiments. In the most popular words, it is: insufficient evidence of carcinogenicity!

Moreover, there are various types of pickled vegetables, and different methods of pickling vegetables are indeed different. Therefore, it is difficult to say in general that eating pickles will definitely cause cancer. However, eating substandard and improperly prepared pickles may indeed increase the risk of cancer.

This is because there is a substance called "nitrite" in pickles, which is a common food additive. It is generally not harmful to the body when ingested within the allowable range. However, if nitrite is ingested in excess, it will be decomposed into first-class carcinogen nitrosamines under the action of gastric acid and protein, which may increase the risk of cancer.

In addition, the high salt content in pickles can directly act on the gastric mucosa, damage the natural protective barrier of the gastric mucosa, and easily induce chronic gastric diseases, such as gastritis and gastric ulcers. With chronic gastric disease for a long time, the cells in the stomach are constantly repaired and damaged, which will also increase its own carcinogenicity.

Since all pickles contain nitrite, should all pickles be inedible?

First of all, it should be noted that the production process of different types of pickles is not the same. Moreover, not all pickles produce nitrite components. For example, pickles that are fermented with pure lactic acid bacteria have a relatively low nitrite content.

In addition, the nitrite content in pickles is also related to the marinating time. Under normal circumstances, about 2-3 weeks after the vegetables are pickled, the nitrite content will gradually decrease, so the vegetables that have been pickled for a long time do not contain a lot of nitrite as you might imagine. On the contrary, pickles in the short term have higher nitrite content.

In addition, there is the most important point, talking about toxicity beyond the dose is not stable at all!

Nitrosamines are indeed carcinogenic, but they are based on long-term and large intake. If ingesting nitrite only once in a while, the risk of cancer is very small. Moreover, cancer is a comprehensive disease, and its pathogenesis is not only caused by carcinogens in food, but also has multiple influences such as the strength of immunity, living environment, and genetic factors.

In general, although pickled vegetables are sour and delicious, they are not very carcinogenic when eaten once in a while. However, the high salt content it contains is an undeniable fact, and it is indeed easy to induce high blood pressure and chronic stomach problems. And long-term high intake of nitrite may also increase carcinogenicity. Therefore, no matter from which point of view, it is necessary to reduce the frequency of eating pickles.