As the saying goes, "disease enters through the mouth, and disaster exits through the mouth," which is especially true for esophageal cancer, a type of gastrointestinal tumor. The esophagus is the passage through which all food and drink pass. Food forms a bolus in the esophagus and then enters the stomach in an orderly manner for digestion. The primary symptom of esophageal cancer is often progressive difficulty in swallowing. It starts with difficulty swallowing dry foods, followed by semi-liquid foods, and finally an inability to swallow even water and saliva. However, early symptoms are often not obvious. Initially, swallowing coarse or hard food may cause varying degrees of discomfort, with slow passage and a feeling of stagnation or a foreign object. The feeling of obstruction or stagnation often eases after drinking water, and the symptoms can be mild or severe, making them easy to overlook.
Although esophageal cancer can be the result of multiple interacting factors, it is closely related to dietary habits. So, which poor eating habits can easily trigger esophageal cancer?
"Eating while hot" burns the oral mucosa
The human esophageal wall is composed of mucosa, which is very delicate and can only withstand temperatures of 50°C to 60°C. Beyond this temperature, the esophageal mucosa can be scalded. If one often eats very hot foods such as hot pot or Malatang, or some people prefer to "eat while hot" with hot porridge, hot soup, hot tea, and hot milk, the damage accumulates over time. This constant scalding can cause serious injury to the oral, esophageal, and gastric mucosa, often with "old wounds not healing before new ones are added." Repeated scalding can lead to superficial ulcers and conditions like chronic oral mucositis and esophagitis. Over the long term, this can cause changes in the mucosa, leading to cancer.
Moreover, people who frequently eat hot food will have their mucosa thicken under increasing thermal stimulation, making it less sensitive. This makes them less likely to feel the heat, and they eat even hotter food, causing the oral mucosa to thicken further. This vicious cycle leads a person to unconsciously accept increasingly severe burns.
The damage from this stimulation can also cause intractable esophagitis, which may sometimes be accompanied by dysplastic cells, suggesting it could be a precancerous lesion. Researchers have found that esophageal cancer is often accompanied by esophagitis, which can appear 10 years before the cancer.
Similarly, we should pay attention to the temperature of the water we drink. It is best to drink warm water daily, with a temperature between 18°C and 45°C. Water that is too hot can damage tooth enamel and strongly irritate the throat, digestive tract, and gastric mucosa. Even in winter, drinking water should not exceed 50°C. Data shows that among patients with esophageal cancer, over 90% usually prefer hot food and drinks. The average temperature of their food or drinks is 71°C to 74°C, with some reaching up to 88°C. Experiments have shown that consuming food or drinks around 75°C can cause a reaction in the esophageal epithelium; at around 80°C, necrosis and atypical hyperplasia of the esophageal mucosal epithelium occur.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, dietary advice often includes the saying, "Heat should not be scalding, and cold should not be chilling." This means that food should not be as scalding as boiling water, nor as icy as frozen ice. Both excessively hot and cold food can cause harm, especially to the throat and esophagus, the gateways of the digestive tract, leading to disease.
"Wolfing down food" irritates the digestive tract
We are often told to "chew slowly," but due to the fast pace of modern life, some office workers eat in a hurry, or some people, being impatient, eat too quickly. They often "wolf down their food like a wolf and sweep up the leftovers like a wind," failing to chew their food properly. On one hand, swallowing large pieces of food strongly stimulates the digestive tract. On the other hand, it can accidentally cause injuries like fish bones getting stuck in the throat, scratching the esophageal mucosa. Or, they might swallow a large amount of very hot food, which can cause inflammation. Occasional instances might not be a problem, but long-term, cumulative damage can lead to esophageal cancer.
Rough, spicy, and irritating foods
The esophagus is the passage from the mouth to the stomach. Its wall is made of elastic tissue, consisting of the mucosal epithelial layer, submucosal layer, and muscular layer. Through the peristaltic contractions of the soft, elastic esophageal muscles, the food bolus is pushed into the stomach. When overly coarse food passes through the esophagus and contacts the mucosal epithelium, it can abrade the esophageal mucosa, causing it to break down, ulcerate, and bleed. If repeatedly stimulated, the mucosal epithelium will develop abnormal, dysplastic cells during the process of repeated regeneration and repair. When these abnormal cells accumulate, they can gradually undergo malignant transformation, appearing as protrusions, hyperplasia, ulcers, and bleeding on the surface of the esophageal mucosa. As the cancerous cells continue to develop, the cancerous tissue expands and gradually grows into the middle layers of the esophageal wall.
Pickled, moldy, fried, and grilled foods induce esophageal cancer
Try to stay away from foods containing nitrites. Nitrite levels are high in cured meat products, pickled vegetables, and spoiled vegetables. Nitrites have been confirmed to have a close relationship with esophageal cancer. Moldy and spoiled foods contain a large amount of *Fusarium moniliforme*, which can enhance the carcinogenic effect of nitrites. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid overnight vegetables, rotten fruits, and moldy grains, and to minimize consumption of commercially available salted fish and meat, sausages, and pickled or pickled vegetables.
Fried, grilled, barbecued, and smoked foods are popular because of their delicious taste. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons like benzopyrene can be detected in grilled animal proteins such as beef, pork, lamb, chicken, fish, eggs, and processed cured meats like ham and bacon. Benzopyrene is a carcinogen. In the Tianshan region of Xinjiang, China, Kazakhs also enjoy smoked mutton—for its flavor and ease of preservation—but they are also a high-risk group for esophageal cancer in China.
The World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have pointed out twice that low-protein foods rich in carbohydrates, including starchy foods, can produce acrylamide, a substance that causes esophageal cancer, when cooked at high temperatures through frying or grilling. Therefore, for home cooking of staple foods, it is recommended to use methods such as steaming, boiling, stewing, and blanching.
Strong liquor burns the esophagus
Many people know that smoking is closely related to lung cancer, but fewer are aware that long-term, heavy drinking is related to the development of esophageal cancer. In the "Jingyue Quanshu" by the Ming dynasty physician Zhang Jingyue, it is recorded: "The condition of dysphagia (Yipi) must be caused by accumulated worries, overthinking, toil, depression, or excessive indulgence in alcohol and sex. Excessive worry and thought lead to stagnation of Qi, and stagnation of Qi prevents transformation. Excessive indulgence in alcohol and sex damages Yin, and damaged Yin leads to the exhaustion of essence and blood. When Qi does not move, dysphagia occurs in the upper body; when essence and blood are depleted, dryness and blockage occur in the lower body." Esophageal cancer falls under the category of "dysphagia," and the renowned physician Zhang Jingyue recognized its connection to excessive drinking.
There is a popular saying, "Drinking hurts the liver, not drinking hurts the heart." Many people know that drinking damages the liver and causes alcoholic liver disease, but in fact, drinking also harms the esophagus and stomach, especially strong liquor with high alcohol content. After entering the digestive tract, alcohol causes chemical burns to the esophageal and gastric mucosa. Nausea and vomiting that occur while drinking are signs of alcohol harming the digestive system. Years of drinking can cause repeated damage to the esophageal mucosa, eventually leading to a qualitative change and cancer.
Worry less to prevent esophageal cancer
The "Huangdi Neijing" states: "Therefore, the sage does not treat a disease that has already appeared, but prevents a disease that has not yet appeared; he does not correct a disorder that has already happened, but prevents a disorder that has not yet happened. This is what is meant. If a disease has already formed and then one uses medicine, if a disorder has already happened and then one tries to correct it, it is like digging a well when one is thirsty, or forging a weapon when a battle has already begun—is it not too late?" Therefore, any disease, including cancer, must emphasize prevention. Preventing trouble before it starts is the only way to get twice the result with half the effort.
For the prevention of esophageal cancer, first, one must develop good eating habits: do not eat food that is too hot, coarse, or moldy; eat at a moderate pace, "chew slowly," and do not "wolf down food." Second, try to eat fresh food and consume less pickled, moldy, fried, and grilled food. Eat less coarse, hard, and spicy food. Do not drink large amounts of alcohol for long periods, especially strong liquor. Eat less hot food and spicy, irritating food. People with esophagitis should be vigilant and seek early examination if they experience a feeling of a foreign object in the esophagus, a burning sensation, a feeling of stagnation when eating, or a stabbing pain behind the sternum, aiming for early diagnosis and treatment.
In addition, as stated in the "Jingyue Quanshu," one should try to worry less and think less, maintain a cheerful mood, which can promote the circulation of Qi and blood in the body and reduce the chance of developing cancer.