SC - Korean food question

[Gedney, Jeff]

Adamantius wrote:
> Hmmmm. I'm familiar with claims the eating of the cakes from which soy
> sauce
> is made, fermented in the usual way, have raised the incidence of stomach
> cancer by several factors. Is there any chance we're talking about the
> same thing?
> 
I have heard the same, though only in passing, so I have no Idea.
This was apparently a separate case. The cakes in question were purpose made
for eating, and not used for other purposes. (It was also made mostly from
maizecorn.)
I remember this from an episode of NOVA, some years ago, which followed some
American and Chinese epidemiologists and oncologists called in to find the
cause for the unusually high incidence of an otherwise rare form of throat
cancer. This area had completely similar environmental factors to other
industrial areas which did not show the same cancer rate, so the researchers
were pretty puzzled for a while, until they started to isolate aspects of
diet and lifestyle unlike the other areas. They then compared a control
group that did not eat the cakes (apparently it is an acquired taste) and
found a normal incidence rate of that cancer. 
The cancer was apparently caused by the mold on the cakes colonizing the
upper pharyngeal area, and breaking down the throat tissues. The high
pollution in Chinese industrial areas caused a drying out and cracking of
the lining of the throat and pharynx, allowing the mold to establish a
"beachhead" as the cake was swallowed. 

brandu

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