For years we’ve been told that eating grapefruit was a healthy choice for breakfast and for those who want to lose weight but a new study has suggested that eating grapefruit can increase the risk of breast cancer.

It is thought that the fruit boosts blood levels of oestrogen, the hormone associated with the risk of the disease. According to the research carried out by the universities of Southern California and Hawaii and based on more than 50,000 post menopausal women from five ethnic groups, including 1,657 with breast cancer and published in the British Journal of Cancer, eating as little as a quarter of grapefruit a day can raise the danger by 30 per cent for older women.

It’s important to bear in mind that many lifestyle factors contribute to breast cancer risk. Earlier this year it was revealed that just one alcoholic drink a day may increase your risk by 9 per cent. A major European study also recently showed that eating junk food raises a woman’s risk of developing a range of cancers. And older women with the fattiest diets have a 15 per cent increase in their chances of developing beast cancer according to a separate US study.

Also bear in mind that other studies have suggested that grapefruit has anti cancer properties and may play a role in weight management. It’s also high in fibre which is good for your digestive health and vitamin C which is good for boosting your immunity. The key, as with everything in life, is moderation. You could still have grapefruit once a week and have other choices for breakfast the rest of the week.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 1st, 2007 at 10:40 pm and is filed under General Health, In the News, Nutrition and Healthy Eating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.