[quote=FlyerInHi]njtosd, thanks for the interesting article on stomach cancer.

The causes seem to be modern. Smoking and alcohol. I wonder if men suffer more can than women because Asian women drink and smoke a lot less. With men, it’s is a culture thing. Drinking and smoking is a sign of manhood.

Pickled salty stuff is bad. I always believed salt is bad. We get to much salt. You posted an article before that salt could be harmless. Even if salt is not bad, it’s not natural to the cavemen hunter gatherers. No salt for me.[/quote]

Probably a combination of factors. Asbestos is generally thought to be an initiator (causes cell proliferation) while alcohol and components of cigarette smoke are thought to be promoters (cause mutations). Together as cells proliferate they are exposed to mutagens that damage DNA and have the potential to cause cancer.

I’m not sure if it’s the Western diet that is causing today’s ills. People (especially the self righteous) want to believe that, but people also want to believe that vaccines cause autism. My grandparents died of heart disease at 65 (1960) eating a relatively healthy diet. The problem with both of these beliefs is that they distract people from alternative and potentially helpful lines of inquiry. Or maybe Western diets are causing problems, but not exactly for the reasons we think: http://www.medicaldaily.com/imbalances-our-gut-flora-contribute-obesity-epidemic-how-do-we-fix-341106

My belief is that if I want to believe something is true, it probably isn’t.