Fruit juice could raise the risk of breast cancer, according to a study of British women.
Having a daily glass of fruit or vegetable juice was associated with a 13 per cent higher chance of the disease, research found.
Intriguingly, the risk was greater for fruit juice than for sugar-sweetened drinks such as fizzy colas – suggesting it may not be as healthy as people imagine.
Scientists say the association may be driven by the high levels of fructose – a type of sugar – in fruit juice.
Fructose is metabolised in the liver and, if consumed in large amounts, can cause fat to accumulate and trigger changes to the body’s metabolism.
This, in turn, may cause hormonal changes, which could favour the development of breast tumours, the scientists say.
They suggest replacing fruit juice with a low-calorie or artificially-sweetened alternative. Doing so was associated with a 10 per cent reduced risk of breast cancer.
Writing about their findings in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, the authors said: ‘In this large study, consumption of pure fruit/vegetable juice was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, suggesting that healthier beverage choices may play a role in breast cancer prevention.
Drinking a glass of juice every day could increase chances of breast cancer by 13 per cent, the study found
‘Additional studies are still needed to confirm the associations and explore potential mechanisms.’
Breast cancer affects 56,000 women in the UK every year, leading to about 11,200 deaths. Risks for the disease include obesity, genetics, lifetime exposure to hormones such as oestrogen, alcohol and lack of exercise.
But diet is also thought to play a role, and may account for around 10 to 15 per cent of the risk.
The latest study looked at the diet data for more than 86,000 women in the UK and cross-referenced it against diagnoses of breast cancer. Over a ten-year period, 2,644 women were diagnosed with the disease.
Regularly drinking fruit and vegetable juice (defined as a 250ml glass every day, significantly higher than the 150ml limit a day recommended by the NHS) was associated with an increased risk, but other drinks were not. There was no distinction in the study between freshly squeezed juice or juice in a carton.
The researchers, from Nanjing Medical University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, advised people to eat fresh fruit and vegetables instead. ‘The beneficial compounds and nutrients in whole fruits, like vitamins and fibre, may help mitigate the adverse effects of sugar and offer protective benefits,’ they said.
