Grapefruit link to breast cancer

[Guest guest]

This article is directed to breast cancer in women,

although it can happen in men too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6900482.stm

Grapefruit link to breast cancer

Eating too much grapefruit could increase risks of

breast cancer. Eating grapefruit every day could raise

the risk of developing breast cancer by almost a third,

US scientists say. A study of 50,000 post-menopausal

women found eating just a quarter of a grapefruit

daily raised the risk by up to 30%.

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.

But the researchers and other experts said more

research was still needed.

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.

The women had to fill in questionnaires saying

how often they ate grapefruit and how big their

portions were.

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.

Previous studies have shown that a molecule

called cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is involved

in metabolising oestrogen hormones.

And grapefruit may boost blood oestrogen levels

by inhibiting this molecule, allowing the

hormones to build up.

The researchers found that in women who ate at

least a quarter of a grapefruit daily, levels

of oestrogen were higher.

They said: " It is well established that oestrogen

is associated with breast cancer risk.

" 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. "

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.

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.

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.

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.

" However, this study is simply a piece of the

jigsaw that will eventually help us to understand

how our diets affect our health.

" 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. "

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.