mmalabanan
If you’re fond of drinking very hot beverages, you may want to reconsider giving this up as global health experts warn about its dangers.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drinking very hot beverages (over 65°C) including water, tea, and coffee may cause oesophageal cancer. Based on their theory, cancer starts by constant irritation of the lining of the mouth and throat caused by very hot beverages.
Christopher Wild, director of WHO’s International Agency for Cancer on Research (IARC), said in a statement:
“[New figures] suggest drinking very hot beverages is one probable cause of oesophageal cancer and that it is the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, that appears to be responsible.”
He pointed out that it is safe to consume beverages at “normal serving temperatures” or 65°C or under.
Their findings showed that the risk of oesophageal cancer increased with the temperature at which the beverage was drunk particularly in places such as China, Turkey, Iran, and South America, where tea is traditionally drunk at about 70°C.
“Drinking very hot beverages at above 65°C was classified as ‘probably’ carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A),” the study concluded.
Known as the eight most common type of cancers worldwide, oesophageal cancer is mainly caused by smoking and consumption of alcohol. But a majority of cases of oesophageal cancer occur in parts of Asia, East Africa, and South America, where people regularly drink very hot beverages and where reasons for high incidence are not as well understood.
