According to a new study, some citrus fruits may hike melanoma risk, the deadliest form of skin cancer but the least common.
The research involved more than 100,000 adults who were monitored for more than two decades. Scientists learned that people who consumed orange juice or whole grapefruit on a regular basis had a higher chance of developing skin cancer than those who weren’t into these foods.
The findings were published Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. But its authors acknowledged that they found no cause-and-effect link between skin cancer and citrus fruit consumption.
Dr. Abrar Qureshi, senior author of the research, said that there is an explanation for the newly found link between citruses and heightened risk of melanoma. He believes that the “photoactive” chemicals in those fruits make skin more prone to sunburns and cancer.
“You’ll see children get a sunburn in spots where a citrus popsicle dripped down the chin, for example,”
Dr Qureshi noted.
But he doctor also said that avoiding orange juice is pointless if there isn’t an overexposure to the sun. He suggests people should stay in the shade, use high-quality sunscreen and wear large brimmed hats especially after they had consumed citrus fruits.
Nevertheless, researchers do not know if other citruses such as lemons and limes can boost skin cancer risk in hot sunny days.
Marianne Berwick, a melanoma expert from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, noted that we shouldn’t remove citruses from our diets due to the vitamins they contain.
Study authors employed data on over 100,000 adults from two national studies of health professionals. Every two years, professionals were surveyed about their lifestyle choices and health.
Over the course of 25 years, more than 1,800 study participants were diagnosed with melanoma. But the risk was significantly higher among those who had reported consuming orange juice and whole grapefruits on a daily basis.
The findings remained consistent even after the results were adjusted for other risk factors including history of sunburns and sun exposure duration.
According to the study, people who drank orange juice at least once a day had a 25 percent higher chance of being diagnosed with melanoma than those who consumed the juice weekly.
Participants who consumed whole grapefruit at least three times every week saw their skin cancer risk jump by 41 percent than those who never consumed the fruit. But no association between whole orange or grapefruit juice consumption and melanoma risk was found.
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