Grapefruit Tied to Breast Cancer

By Caroline Miller,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 16, 2007 10:40 PM CDT
Grapefruit Tied to Breast Cancer
Sea scallops with ruby grapefruit make a silky, stylish ceviche.   (KRT Photos)

So much for the grapefruit diet, staple of starlets, socialites and other figure-conscious  women throughout the seventies and eighties. Consuming as little as a quarter of a grapefruit daily increases risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women by as much as 30%, a new study shows.

The survey involved interviewing 50,000 post-menopausal women about their grapefruit-eating habits. Researchers theorize that grapefruit slows the metabolizing of estrogen, the hormone associated with breast cancer risk. But they note that further study is needed—especially since subjects were interviewed about consumption of the fruit only, not the juice. (More breast cancer stories.)

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