Health And Wellness

The Scary Disease You Can Get Just By Drinking Orange Juice

Photo: RossHelen / Shutterstock
woman drinking orange juice

Before you head to the kitchen for that big glass of OJ, take a look at this recent shocking study. I'm sad to say that this news will not brighten your day.

Researchers from Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School say that a study from the Journal of Clinical Oncology, which they recently conducted, shows that drinking citrus juices, like orange juice, may increase your risk of developing the most deadly form of skin cancer.

I know; I'm upset about this, too.

RELATED: I Almost Missed The Signs Of Cancer Due To The Demands Of Early Motherhood

Turns out, the sweet glass of orange juice Mom gives you every morning isn't as healthy as you thought. Maybe just stick to water in the morning.

The researchers gathered and assessed the daily consumption of citrus juices and other dietary information from 63,810 women in the Nurses' Health Study and 41,622 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study over a span of 25 years.

Out of those 100,000 case studies, they documented that 1,840 of them reported having contracted melanoma.

According to the study, grapefruit seems to be the most hazardous of citrus juices.

The researchers say, "Among individual citrus products, grapefruit showed the most apparent association with risk of melanoma, which was independent of other lifestyle and dietary factors."

While this is slightly jarring information, this shouldn't keep you from completely removing orange juice and grapefruit from your diet.

RELATED: My Husband Was Diagnosed With Breast Cancer

Surgeon Dr. Ryan Fields at Washington University's Siteman Cancer Center says, "[Those in the study] were all healthcare professionals; these were all people who, when they stratified the amount of citrus fruit, it was two servings a day versus less than two servings a week. So, we don't really know in that middle ground in moderate consumption, and the risk wasn't overwhelmingly huge. It was mild to moderately increased risk."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Maneet Sikka  (@maneet_16) on Apr 18, 2020 at 4:45am PDT

The Warren Alpert Medical School researchers recognize these limitations and state in their study, "Nevertheless, further investigation is needed to confirm our findings and explore related health implications."

RELATED: 13 Breast Cancer Risk Factors You Need To Know About (5 Of Which You Can Change)

Therefore, as more research into the link between orange juice is conducted, it's important to know that moderation is the key, just as you moderate the amount of daily sunlight intake for the same health benefits.

So, you can sit back and relax with a cool glass of OJ to enjoy some healthy amounts of Vitamin D.

RELATED: Chronic Migraines Made Daily Life Unbearable — Until I Tried This Ancient Technique

Victoria Rosenthal is a love and entertainment writer for Yourtango. 

Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on May 1, 2018.