Eating salty foods seems to be more strongly linked to early stomach changes that can lead to cancer than to actual cancer itself, meaning salt might affect cancer risk earlier in the process.

Eating more salt is linked to a higher chance of having a stomach condition called gastric intestinal metaplasia, which means your stomach lining changes in a way that might not be healthy.

Eating salt doesn't seem to affect stomach changes differently in various parts of the world or in different types of studies—it's pretty much the same everywhere.

Eating a lot of salt is linked to changes in your stomach lining that might lead to health issues, and many big studies show this connection is real even though the exact strength varies a bit.

Eating more salty foods might raise the chance of getting stomach cancer in grown-ups, according to a big review of health studies.

Eating a lot of salty preserved foods might raise your chances of getting stomach cancer by about one-quarter compared to eating less of them, but this link isn't as strong as other ways salt could affect cancer risk.