Eating grapefruit is linked to higher risk of breast cancer

Eating grapefruit may increase the risk of breast cancer by up to a third.

According to new research, eating as little as a quarter of a grapefruit a day may increase the risk by 30 per cent in older women.

Breast cancer accounts for more than a quarter of all cancers in women. More than 40,000 cases are diagnosed and around 12,500 women die from the disease in the UK each year.

"This is the first report of a commonly consumed food that may increase the risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women," say the researchers. "Whole grapefruit intake was significantly associated with breast cancer in the present study – generally, a 30 per cent increase among women who consume the equivalent of one quarter of a grapefruit or more per day."

It is thought the fruit increases blood levels of oestrogen, the hormone associated with breast cancer risk. The research, reported in the British Journal of Cancer, is based on a study group of around 46,000 women, including 1,657 with breast cancer.

The women sampled are among those taking part in the long running Hawaii-Los Angeles Multiethnic Study.

In the study, the women were asked how much grapefruit they had consumed daily during the previous year. Overall, whole grapefruit was consumed by 50 per cent of the women, with 7 per cent having an intake of one quarter of a grapefruit or more a day.

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