Eight studies on the consumption of fresh vegetables and 14 studies on the consumption of pickled vegetables related to stomach cancer risk were included in this meta-analysis.
Four studies exploring differences in stomach cancer risk in men and women were considered separately.
What did the study reveal?
“We observed that a high intake of fresh vegetables was significantly associated with a decreased risk of GC [gastric cancer] but that a high intake of pickled vegetables was significantly associated with an increased risk of GC”, the researchers wrote.
They concluded: “The results of this meta-analysis provide evidence that a high intake of pickled vegetables may increase GC risk and suggest that a high consumption of fresh vegetables, rather than a large total amount of vegetables including pickled vegetables, is important to reduce GC risk.”