Grapefruit

[Stacy]

Q: I just read that grapefruit increases the risk of breast cancer. What gives? A: One study showed that grapefruit raises estrogen levels in postmenopausal women. Higher estrogen is associated with greated risk of breast cancer. Another study reported that women who regularly ate grapefruit were 30% more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer. Other researchers have found no connection between grapefruit consumption and breast cancer. Grapefruit ineracts with hundreds of medications and can increase the risk of side effects. We discuss this in greater detail in our Guide to Grapefruit Interactions. We also discuss the pros and cons of hormone therapy in our Guide to Estrogen. Both can be downloaded from our Web site: http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/grapefruit-2442/www.peoplespharmacy.com.

Just for reference, I had a major set of seizures one day after eating an entire ruby red grapfruit. I've been convinced my seizures are triggered by my hormones for a long time. My grandmother (paternal) died of breast cancer. My mother was the one with Epilepsy.

 

[brain]

Stacy:

You're absolutely correct and no you
are not seeing things. It's fine for healthy
people, but not fine for those on meds
where grapefruit will cause problems;
especially with some AEDs. I cannot
have grapefruit (as much as I adore it).
My mom had a hard time believing this
until my Primary confirmed it to her, so
she doesn't bring grapefruit over here
anymore (my son has Chron's) and after
she saw the SSA's report and seeing
my son having what I have - no more
grapefruit for us, nor papayas either.
But pretty much we can have a lot of
other stuff as well.

Orange Juice is ok, but we're restricted
just how much we can have (4 ounces)
but no more and we're addicts! It's
really hard not to drink more than that.
We have a Pyrex Cup and once we drink
it - that's it. But I became clever by
adding bananas, mangos, etc with it
to make a smoothie out of it and tossing
ice into the blender - and we wore that
blender to it's death...

Right now that blender is beautifying
a landfill somewhere!

 

[RobinN]

I have never heard it being connected to breast cancer though. On DogtorJ's list of estrogen rich foods it isn't listed however fruit and citrus are listed as being beneficial. Go figure.

I personally hate grapefruit, so I never have it around the house. Rebecca was warned about eating it while taking AEDs.