Eating grapefruit can increase the risk of breast cancer by almost a third, according to a new study.

Researchers found that consuming as little as quarter of the fruit a day increases the risk of contracting the disease by 30 per cent in post-menopausal age.

Grapefruit is said to boost blood levels of the hormone oestrogen, which is linked to the risk of breast cancer.

Researchers from the universities of southern California in Los Angeles and Hawaii in Honolulu studied more than 50,000 post-menopausal women, including 1,657 with breast cancer.

Writing in the British Journal of Cancer, the team concluded that eating grapefruit was “significantly associated” with an increased risk of breast cancer.

“There was a 30 per cent increase for subjects in the highest category of intake, that is one quarter of grapefruit or more per day compared to non-consumers,” they said. “Since it is well established that oestrogen is associated with breast cancer risk, it is plausible that regular intake of grapefruit would increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer.”

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