Hot Tea Nearly Doubles Your Risk Cancer

A new study from the International Journal of Cancer, says drinking hot tea increases your risk of esophageal cancer.

According to The International Agency for Research on Cancer oesophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer in the world and is often fatal, killing approximately 400,000 people every year, usually caused by repeated injury to the oesophagus due to smoke, alcohol, acid reflux and maybe hot liquids.

The study led by Dr Farhad Islami, of the American Cancer Society, covered over 50,000 people that lived in Northern Iran. For nearly 10 years Islami and his team studied the lives of 40 to 75 year-olds for an average of 10 years

Between 2004 and 2017, the researchers detected over 300 new cases of oesophagal cancer among tea drinkers who liked their beverage to be warmer than 60 degrees Celsius and consumed more than 700 ml of tea per day when compared to those who drank less tea and at cooler temperatures.

“Many people enjoy drinking tea, coffee, or other hot beverages. However, according to our report, drinking very hot tea can increase the risk of esophagal cancer, and it is, therefore, advisable to wait until hot beverages cool down before drinking,” Islami said.

However, A professor of Pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Stephen Evans, said why drinking very hot tea could be associated with the higher risk of esophageal cancer was because of the heat and not the type of beverage.

“It is probably anything hot; microwaved jam has been known to cause oesophageal injury. It is possible that the trauma leads to cell changes and hence to cancer,” Evans said.

In agreement to Evans, A senior research associate at the University College London, James Doidge, added that hot drinks were an established risk factor for oesophageal cancer.