Kimchi and soybean paste are the most popular foods in Korea. Many people eat it almost every day. Kimchi and soybean paste taste good and are known as anticancer foods. In particular, soybean paste is helpful in preventing breast cancer. On the other hand, it can also increase the risk of cancer. Kimchi and soybean paste, which are both cancer prevention and cancer risk effect, for what reason?
◆ Doenjang and cheonggukjang prevent breast cancer, greater than soybeans
Soybean paste is fermented soybeans with salt. Soybeans are rich in isoflavones. The chemical structure is similar to that of the female hormone (estrogen), so it acts similar to estrogen in the body. Although estrogen is a risk factor for breast cancer, isoflavones do reduce the risk of breast cancer because they are not hormones and act as substitutes. Isoflavones are effective in preventing not only breast cancer, but also prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, and endometrial cancer.
According to the National Cancer Information Center, the genistein component in soybeans is known to inhibit the growth and metastasis of cancer cells. Doenjang and Cheonggukjang made by fermenting soybeans also contain a lot of isoflavones and genistein. Here, the cancer prevention effect is greater than that of soybeans due to the fermented product produced during the fermentation process.
◆ Consuming soybean paste often increases the risk of stomach cancer… what happened?
Because soybean paste contains a lot of salt, it has the effect of preventing cancer and increasing the risk of cancer. Studies show that eating a lot of soybean paste increases the risk of stomach cancer. The salty component (sodium) of soybean paste stimulates the gastric mucosa and thins the mucous membrane, causing atrophic gastritis and intestinal epithelial metaplasia. Therefore, it is better to eat soybean paste, which is a healthy food, but not too salty considering the salt.
◆ Cancer-preventing effects of salted kimchi vs. increased cancer risk
Kimchi contains a lot of dietary fiber and lactic acid bacteria that help prevent cancer, but also contains salty ingredients that increase the risk of cancer, such as salt and salted fish. It is not clear whether eating kimchi helps prevent cancer. Studies examining the relationship between kimchi intake and stomach, breast, and colon cancer, the thesis ‘helps prevent cancer’ and ‘rather enhances’ conflicting results coexist.
Therefore, it is important to eat kimchi, but not to make it too salty in the process of salting or seasoning cabbage. If you eat too much salty kimchi, it interacts with Helicobacter pylori, one of the major risk factors for gastric cancer, and increases the incidence of stomach cancer. However, in order to make kimchi taste good, it has to be pickled with salt and salted fish, so the key is to supplement it well.
◆ Which foods are closely related to sodium intake?
Among the foods that Koreans enjoy eating, those closely related to sodium intake are kimchi (30%), salt (17%), soybean paste-soy sauce (22%), and ramen (5%). Others with high sodium (salt) content are soups such as soups, stews, and noodles, and salted foods such as salted fish and pickles. Sodium is also an essential element in the body, but if it is excessive, it increases various health risks such as high blood pressure and heart disease.
The daily sodium intake (2000 mg) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) is 5 g or less in terms of salt. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends less than 3 grams of salt. World Cancer Research Fund-American Cancer Research Institute (WCRF/AICR) is holding salted foods (salted fish-meat, pickles, etc.) and processed foods with added salt (ham-sausage-bacon, etc.) as foods high in salt. . The salt content of these foods is about 3-5g per 100g. In addition, processed foods with added salt, such as potato chips, nuts, snacks, bread, and sweets, contain 1 to 4 g of salt per 100 g, so they are classified as salty foods.
Reporter Kim Yong-eok [email protected]
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