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Eating grapefruit every day could raise the risk of developing breast cancer by almost a third, US scientists say.<\/p>\n

A study of 50,000 post-menopausal women found eating just a quarter of a grapefruit daily raised the risk by up to 30%.<\/p>\n

The fruit is thought to boost levels of oestrogen – the hormone associated with a higher risk of the disease, the British Journal of Cancer reported.<\/p>\n

But the researchers and other experts said more research was still needed.<\/p>\n

This is an interesting study, but is simply a piece of the jigsaw that will eventually help us to understand how our diets affect our health
Dr Joanne Lunn<\/p>\n

The women had to fill in questionnaires saying how often they ate grapefruit and how big their portions were.<\/p>\n

Oestrogen important<\/p>\n

The researchers, at the universities of South California and Hawaii, found that women who ate one quarter of a grapefruit or more every day had a higher risk of breast cancer than those who did not eat the fruit at all.<\/p>\n

Previous studies have shown that a molecule called cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is involved in metabolising oestrogen hormones.<\/p>\n

And grapefruit may boost blood oestrogen levels by inhibiting this molecule, allowing the hormones to build up.<\/p>\n

The researchers found that in women who ate at least a quarter of a grapefruit daily, levels of oestrogen were higher.<\/p>\n

They said: “It is well established that oestrogen is associated with breast cancer risk.<\/p>\n

“Therefore, if grapefruit intake affects oestrogen metabolism leading to higher circulating levels, then it is biologically plausible that regular intake of grapefruit would increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer.”<\/p>\n

More research<\/p>\n

And they said this was the first time a commonly eaten food had been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer in older women.<\/p>\n

However, they warned that more research was needed to confirm the findings which may have been affected because they only took into account intake of the fruit, but not grapefruit juice.<\/p>\n

Breast cancer accounts for almost a third of all cancers in women, and previous lifestyle factors linked to the disease include drinking alcohol and being overweight.<\/p>\n

Dr Joanne Lunn, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation said: “This is an interesting study of a large group of post-menopausal women whose diet and health have been followed for many years.<\/p>\n

“However, this study is simply a piece of the jigsaw that will eventually help us to understand how our diets affect our health.<\/p>\n

“Although we are beginning to get a better awareness of how our diets can modify the risk of diseases such as cancer, we are still a long way from identifying particular foods that might specifically increase or decrease risk.”<\/p>\n

However, she said that some dietary patterns are associated with a reduced risk of certain cancers and that a diet rich in a variety of different fruits and vegetables could help reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers.<\/p>\n

Source: bbc.co.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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