"Dan Goodman" > wrote in message
. net...
> wrote:
>
> On the other pan of the scale: 1) MSG is unhealthy for at least some
> people.
>
> 2) I recall a NYTimes article on an area in China where people have a
> relatively high cancer rate -- apparently thanks to eating mostly
> pickled vegetables.
> Dan Goodman
That was the subject of a Nova show several years ago. During the pickling
process, foam formed on the surface of the liquid. The villagers considered
it a delicacy, a form of condiment. Unfortunately, it contained huge amounts
of nitrites or nitrates (I don't recall which). People in the village were
developing esophageal cancer in outrageous numbers, far beyond worldwide
averages. It was one of the rare times the Chinese requested assistance from
Western doctors & researchers, who found the cause in a matter of days. A
year later, the decrease in the disease was so significant that they thought
the numbers were in error. But, they found the numbers to be correct after
further review.