Consuming drinks with a temperature above 60°C increases the risk of developing esophageal cancer by 90%.
Notice to tea and coffee lovers. For your health, it is better to avoid consuming these drinks that are too hot. This is highlighted by a new study published in theInternational Journal of Cancer. According to its authors, consuming tea, coffee or any other hot drink with a temperature above 60°C considerably increases the risk of developing esophageal cancer.
A 90% increased risk
Last year, a previous study by researchers from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Key Research and Development Program had already established a link between the consumption of very hot drinks and the risk of esophageal cancer.
This new work goes further since it is the first to examine this association using a prospectively and objectively measured consumption temperature. To do this, the researchers followed from 2004 to 2017 50,045 people aged 40 to 75 and residing in northeastern Iran.
Wait for hot drinks to cool before drinking
During this period, 317 new cases of esophageal cancer were diagnosed. By looking at the temperature at which the participants drank their tea, they could see that they regularly drank it very hot. They deduced that consuming 70cl of tea per day at a temperature of 60°C or more was associated with a 90% increased risk of developing esophageal cancer.
“Many people like to drink tea, coffee or other hot drinks. However, according to our report, drinking very hot tea can increase the risk of esophageal cancer, so it is advisable to wait until drinks hot drinks cool down before drinking,” says Dr. Farhad Islami, a member of the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study. The latter, however, is reassuring. “If you let your tea cool a bit before drinking it or add cold milk, you are unlikely to increase your risk of cancer.”
5,000 people are affected each year by esophageal cancer
In 2016, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is the cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), classified very hot drinks over 65°C as potentially carcinogenic substances, in same as alcohol and tobacco.
In France, approximately 5,000 people are affected each year by esophageal cancer. In 80% of cases, they are men, aged over 55. 90% of esophageal cancers are due to the consumption of tobacco and/or alcohol, the action of the two reinforcing each other.
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