Let hot beverages cool down
Study links drinking hot tea with elevated oesophageal cancer risk
ACCORDING to a new study, regularly drinking very hot tea could increase the risk of oesophageal cancer. The research hails from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran and is published in The International Journal of Cancer. Scientists followed 50,045 individuals between the ages of 40 and 75 from 2004 to 2017. During this period, 317 new cases of oesophageal cancer were identified.
Drinking 700ml of tea per day at a temperature greater than or equal to 600C was associated with a 90 per cent
higher risk of oesophageal cancer. This is lower than estimations from the World Health Organisation, which considers drinking hot drinks (coffee, tea or others) at temperatures above 650C to be a risk factor.
“Many people enjoy drinking tea, coffee, or other hot beverages. However, according to our report, drinking very hot tea can increase the risk of oesophageal cancer and it is therefore, advisable to wait until hot beverages cool down before drinking,” said lead author Dr Farhad Islami of the American Cancer Society.
In February last year, a Chinese study published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that regularly drinking hot tea could multiply by five the risks of developing oesophageal cancer. However, the findings only applied to people also using tobacco and/or alcohol.
Dr Farhad Islami
AFP Relaxnews
Drinking very hot tea can increase the risk of oesophageal cancer and it is therefore, advisable to wait until hot beverages cool down before drinking.