A New study A study from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom found that participants who said they drank “hot” or “very hot” beverages may have a higher risk of developing a type of esophageal cancer.
Cancer Research UK – which funded the research – noted that scientists outside the UK had been studying the potential link for years.
“International research has shown for some time that drinking beverages such as yerba mate at very high temperatures, as is common in South America, is associated with an increased risk of some types of esophageal cancer,” said Dr. Keren Baber, lead researcher and chief nutritional epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health. charity.
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Mate is a caffeinated herbal beverage similar to tea, but made from the yerba mate plant.
“What is less clear is whether this also applies to the temperatures at which hot beverages are typically consumed in Western populations,” she added.
Baber and her team of researchers analyzed data from nearly one million British adults to identify potential markers of a similar link to the development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the United Kingdom.
The study suggests that esophageal cancer is relatively rare in the UK to begin with, with people having a lifetime risk of developing the disease of around 1 per cent, so even if a person’s risk increases slightly from consuming very hot drinks, it is likely to remain low overall.
In Canada, there are approximately 33.5 diagnoses of the same type of cancer per million people per year, or approx 2800 people in total. Although it’s rare here too, survival rates are less than 20 percent.
In the study, participants reported whether they typically drank beverages “very hot,” “hot,” or “warm.”
The researchers tracked the participants’ health for more than 10 years to see if they developed squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. The results indicated that consuming scorching hot beverages over a long period of time may damage the lining of the esophagus, which may increase the risk of cancer.
Compared with those who said they drank their drinks ‘warm’, the researchers found that those who preferred their drinks ‘hot’ had an almost two times higher risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, while those who drank them at a ‘very hot’ temperature had a three times higher risk.
“This is now the largest study to look at this question in the UK population, where many people drink tea and coffee daily,” Baber said.
“It adds to existing evidence that drinking very hot beverages can increase the risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.”
The study did not find a relationship between tea or coffee consumption and an increased risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The danger is related to the temperature of any hot drink.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer considers drinks “too hot” if their temperature is above 65 degrees Celsius, and says they are “probably carcinogenic” to humans.
Average serving temperatures for tea and coffee generally range between 71-85°C, but are typically consumed at lower temperatures, typically 50-70°C., According to a study in National Library of Medicine.
There are no specific laws or regulations in Canada that require hot beverages to be served within a certain temperature range, although businesses can face legal liability if they serve a beverage at an unreasonably high temperature.
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