Kimchi can cause stomach cancer

There was a medical research study performed by scientists in Korea. They found that in a certain population of patients, “a high consumption of kimchi, soybean paste, and stews was associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer.”

More specifically:

Stratified according to the NAT2 acetylator status, high consumptions of kimchi, stews, and soybean paste showed higher risks of gastric cancer in slow/intermediate acetylators than in rapid acetylators. The odds ratios for the slow/intermediate acetylators were 4.82 (95% CI: 3.23-7.19) for kimchi, 2.34 (95% CI: 1.64-3.34) for stews, and 1.82 (95% CI: 1.29-2.58) for soybean paste, respectively. The odds ratios for the rapid acetylators were 3.03 (95% CI: 2.00-4.62) for kimchi, 1.60 (95% CI: 1.07-2.38) for stews, and 1.42 (95% CI: 0.95-2.10) for soybean paste.

Nitrate levels are high in kimchi.

The full article can be found here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2766547/

Int J Cancer. 2009 July 1; 125(1): 139–145.
Effects of Dietary Factors and the NAT2 Acetylator Status on Gastric Cancer in Koreans
Yan Wei Zhang, Sang-Yong Eom, Yong-Dae Kim, Young-Jin Song, Hyo-Yung Yun, Joo-Seung Park, Sei-Jin Youn, Byung Sik Kim, Heon Kim, and David W. Hein

doi: 10.1002/ijc.24328
PMCID: PMC2766547
NIHMSID: NIHMS137636