People who have more nitrate and nitrite in their saliva seem to be less likely to get stomach cancer.

Eating more nitrate-rich foods might lower your chances of getting stomach cancer by about 20%, based on a big review of many studies, especially in European countries.

Researchers followed nearly 10,000 Finnish adults for 24 years and found that eating foods with nitrates or nitrites didn't increase their chances of getting stomach or intestinal cancers.

Eating a lot of foods with nitrites might raise your chances of getting stomach cancer by about one-third, according to a big review of many studies.

Eating more nitrites, even just a tiny bit extra each day, might raise your chance of getting stomach cancer, according to research that looked at several studies.

Eating nitrate-rich foods might seem to protect against stomach cancer, but it's probably not the nitrates themselves. When researchers accounted for vitamins and other healthy stuff in vegetables, the protection disappeared—so the real benefit likely comes from other nutrients in those foods.