Grapefruit spikes breast cancer risk
I was sure when I saw the article The Grapefruit-Cancer Connection in February's Redbook magazine that I'd discover yet another study proving that diets high in fruit significantly slash the risk of breast cancer. This is exactly what I did not find.
According to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer, grapefruits contain chemical compounds that may affect the way estrogen is metabolized, leading to higher concentrations of the hormone -- a known risk factor for breast cancer -- in the bodies of postmenopausal women. Researchers are not yet sure how grapefruit consumption affects premenopausal women.
Those critical of this study, which put study participants in a 30 percent higher risk category after eating half of a grapefruit every other day, cite a pesticide problem. Even if hormonal factors are present, they say, it could be the pesticides responsible for the real risk.
According to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer, grapefruits contain chemical compounds that may affect the way estrogen is metabolized, leading to higher concentrations of the hormone -- a known risk factor for breast cancer -- in the bodies of postmenopausal women. Researchers are not yet sure how grapefruit consumption affects premenopausal women.
Those critical of this study, which put study participants in a 30 percent higher risk category after eating half of a grapefruit every other day, cite a pesticide problem. Even if hormonal factors are present, they say, it could be the pesticides responsible for the real risk.
Until all details are ironed out, women -- especially those who have already had a form of breast cancer fueled by estrogen -- should consider substituting other fruits. The American Cancer Society recommends eating five servings a day of a variety of fruits of vegetables to limit exposure to potentially harmful substances from any single food.
For more about the grapefruit-cancer connection, check out this article.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
1-23-2008 @ 12:16PM
nikkicookers said...
I would just like to say that this is scary but women need to focus more on heart disease, which kills way more women than any form of cancer. Commonly ignored because of the thinking that heart disease is a man's disease.
nikki cookers
http://fitconnect.com/lilnicky1234
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1-23-2008 @ 2:16PM
Kathy said...
COME ON...............Every thing gives you cancer. That's always the claim when they can't blame anything else. God knows..........THEY could NEVER be wrong.
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1-23-2008 @ 4:27PM
sarah said...
........I don't believe that but anyway, eating too much of just one kind of food is not very wise. variety and the portion size is the key for good health.
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1-23-2008 @ 6:15PM
Gary said...
It's VERY, VERY simple folks. You want to live long...then Live like Jack Lalanne. He's proven everyone wrong over the years.
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1-23-2008 @ 6:15PM
Jessa said...
I agree with everyone else--Apparently, everything gives you cancer these days, even water. Personally, if I'm going to die of cancer, I'd rather get it from eating French fries and playing in the sun than locking myself in the house, trying to avoid the inevitable.
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1-23-2008 @ 6:16PM
VanGOghEar said...
Why does this not surprise me. It was recently discovered in research carried out in the Caribbean that suggests a connection between consumption of soursop fruit and atypical forms of Parkinson's disease due to the very high concentration of Annonacin. In lab results, they found that when given to mice with a defective Tau gene that the disease similar to ALS/Parkinsons/Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (what Dudley Moore had) was replicated. My mother succumed to this disease in October and when I questioned my dad about this fruit (and another person I know who has this disease) they said they consumed this fruit regularly since it is a tropical fruit.
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1-23-2008 @ 6:16PM
davana said...
Now is this an organic grapefruit--or one that is chemically grown--or possibly a GMO grapefruit--
NOt all grapefruits are created equal. Is it trully about the grapefruit--or the chemicals or genetic structure that resides in the fruit.
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1-23-2008 @ 6:19PM
wolf1 said...
Wow,man I just love all the Breast out here,
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1-23-2008 @ 6:20PM
Catherine McGaughey said...
pretty soon they'll be saying death gives us cancer
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1-23-2008 @ 6:24PM
mopsy1 said...
IT OCCURS TO ME THAT THE GREATEST PLAGUE WE FACE IS THE THOUSANDS OF SELF SERVING CRACKPOTS WHO PRESENT THEMSELVES AS "EXPERTS"--USUALLY THEY HAVE WRITTEN A BOOK (IMAGINE THAT!) WHICH THEY ARE PEDDLING TO THE APPARENTLY MILLIONS OF GULLIBLE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT REALLY LIVE LIFE--SO HOW CAN THEY DIE? MY HEALTH WISH IS FOR THE DEATH OF ALL THE CRACKPOT EXPERTS--WE WOULD ALL BE HAPPIER FOR IT.
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1-23-2008 @ 6:25PM
Patricia said...
My grandmother ate half a grapefruit everday. She lived to be 93, dying of colin cancer. I don't fruit had anything to with it.
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1-23-2008 @ 6:25PM
robojerk said...
YEAH,and i heard oranges prevent
cancer of the grapefruits
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1-23-2008 @ 6:25PM
Al Schrader said...
I'm a citrus grower. I can certify that any fruit I sell is
very healthy for you.
My angel is the new Satsuma Mandarin.
Also, Honeybell Tangelo season lasts until March 1st.
I can still ship the Tangelos.
You can email me for more info.
alfredschrader@aol.com
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1-23-2008 @ 6:26PM
dawn said...
everything gives you cancer. you eat too much or too little of something, you'll die of cancer. the same story about another food or product will be out tomorrow. can't we all see the pattern? the thing that's good/bad for you today---just give it a week, and there'll be a story about how it's bad/good for you tomorrow, lolol. I say eat, drink, and be merry.
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1-23-2008 @ 7:53PM
john said...
The farmers spray fruits. vet. nuts,so that they will all get sold with out loosing any money. If grapefruit and citrus fruits caused cancer, we will all have cancer. Put the blame where it belongs.
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1-23-2008 @ 8:14PM
AmiB said...
Do yourself a favor and try the Honeybells and Ambersweets while they are still in season.
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1-23-2008 @ 8:15PM
SUSIE said...
THIS IS SO RIDICULOUS!!!!! THE COMMON LINK TO ALL CANCERS IS PESTICIDES AND CHEMICALS USED ON OUR FOOD THAT WE INJEST! BUY ORGANIC WHEN YOU CAN AND OFTEN. NOTHING FROM NATURE IS GOING TO MAKE YOU ILL UNLESS MAN ALTERS IT OR CONTAMINATES IT.
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1-23-2008 @ 8:16PM
jimmie said...
It is NOT TRUE that abortions cause breast cancer. Go to the following site for information on some of the studies done which disprove the comments above by Gerry, email #17: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/23/health/webmd/main2718947.shtml
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1-23-2008 @ 8:16PM
walter pitts said...
ANY KIND OF CANCER MAY OR MAY NOT AFFECT ANYONE
GET REGULAR CHECK UPS, FIND HUMOR IN LIFE, BE KIND
TO ALL, TRUST CHRIST, AND BE HAPPY.
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1-23-2008 @ 8:17PM
Donna S. said...
I am not giving up my ruby red grapefruit and vodka and that's that!
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