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The Stomach Cancer rate in Japan is Tenfold that of America
Because of America's historical and cultural emphasis on eating meat, the intestinal characteristics of Americans remain generally worse than those in Japan. However, the stomachs of many Japanese are in fact much worse than those of Americans. Having examined the stomachs of both Americans and Japanese, I have found that Japanese people are twenty times more likely to have atrophic gastritis, a condition in which the stomach mucosa becomes thin. Moreover, because atrophic gastritis increases the chances of stomach cancer, the rate of stomach cancer is ten times higher in Japan than in America.
In both America and Japan, obesity is currently a big problem. However, there are not many Japanese who are as obese as their American counterparts. The fact is, Japanese people are incapable of becoming that obese. You can even see this in sumo wrestling, where it is the sumo wrestler's duty to gain weight. There are no Japanese sumo wrestlers with a body like that of Konishiki (a Hawaiian-born American sumo wrestler who weighed over 600 pounds and rose to the second highest rank of ozeki in Japanese sumo).
The Japanese cannot become that as obese as Americans because before they reach that point, the Japanese develop stomach problems, preventing them from eating more. In other words, the reason Americans are able to become much bigger than the Japanese is that their digestive systems are stronger.
While examining stomachs using the endoscope, I found considerable differences between Japanese and Americans when it comes to the way they experience their symptoms. When I examine Japanese people, even though their condition may not be too serious, they complain about having stomach pains, feeling a great deal of discomfort, and heartburn. Interestingly, I discovered that Americans, even if their stomach or esophageal mucosa is considerably inflamed, will rarely complain as much as the Japanese about heartburn or other problems.
One reason such differences occur is the amount of vitamin A found in American food. Vitamin A protects not only the stomach mucosa, but all mucous membranes, such as those of the eye and trachea. Oil contains a lot of vitamin A. One could say that Japan's diet has become more westernized, but the volume of foods such as oil, butter and eggs that Japanese consume is much lower than the volume that Americans consume. If you think about the health of your entire body, these types of food are not good for you. But if you think only in terms of protecting mucous membranes throughout your body, they have some positive effects.
One other possibility regarding why Americans have stronger gastrointestinal systems is the number of digestive enzymes their bodies contain. Digestive enzymes break down food and help the body absorb nutrients. The number of digestive enzymes determines the digestion and absorption of food. Digestion and absorption advance step-by-step as various digestive enzymes are released at each level of digestion. These levels start with saliva and move on to the stomach, duodenum, pancreas and small intestine. Under these circumstances, if each organ secretes enough digestive enzymes, then digestion and absorption will progress smoothly. However if an insufficient amount of digestive enzymes is secreted, then it will cause indigestion and put greater burden on the rest of the organs.
The reason many Japanese people easily feel symptoms like stomach pain or discomfort, even though their stomach condition may not be bad, is that they originally have a lower number of digestive enzymes than Americans.
Furthermore, Japanese people tend to immediately take stomach medication when their stomach conditions worsen, whereas many Americans do not. What Americans do take, however, are digestive enzyme supplements. But these supplements are not sold on the market in Japan, being available only by prescription when the doctor deems it necessary. In America, digestive enzymes are extremely popular supplements. They can easily be purchased in health food stores and supermarkets.
The fact is, taking medication to suppress the secretion of stomach acid further accelerates the deterioration of the stomach lining. Highly popular antacids and stomach medications like the combination of H2 blockers and proton-pump inhibitors are advertised as being highly effective in suppressing the secretion of stomach acid. However, if stomach acid is suppressed with medication, the gastric mucosa atrophies, and the result is what I have already discussed earlier; namely, gastric mucosal atrophy progresses, and this condition may lead to the development of stomach cancer.
If you have stomach pain or discomfort, please tell your doctor exactly what your physical conditions are and then have him or her prescribe the appropriate enzyme supplements according to your symptoms. Or, shop for them in a health foods store, reading labels carefully. By taking digestive enzyme supplements, your stomach conditions will markedly improve.
Hiromi Shinya. The Enzyme Factor (p. 25). Kindle Edition.
