You like your tea super hot? Read how much you have toyed with cancer

People who like to drink their tea steaming hot may be increasing their risk of oesophageal cancer.

Researchers found that drinking tea hotter than 60 degrees Celsius in as large volume as over 700 ml daily had a 90 per cent risk of oesophageal cancer(of the thriat) when compared to those who drank less tea and at cooler temperatures.

According to the Cable News Network, the study published in the International Journal of Cancer looked at more than 50,000 people in Golestan, a province in northeastern Iran.

Dr Farhad Islami, of the American Cancer Society, who lead the  study, said, “Many people enjoy drinking tea, coffee, or other hot beverages. However, according to our report, drinking very hot tea can increase the risk of esophageal cancer, and it is, therefore, advisable to wait until hot beverages cool down before drinking.”

Previous researches found a link between hot tea drinking and oesophageal cancer but the new study is the first to pinpoint a specific temperature, according to the authors.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer says 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 esophagus due to smoke, alcohol, acid reflux and – maybe – hot liquids.

According to the American Cancer Society, 13,750 new cases of oesophageal cancer will be diagnosed in men and 3,900 new cases in women in the United States in 2019.

The researchers followed 50,045 people, aged between 40 and 75, for an average of 10 years between 2004 and 2017. They detected 317 new cases of oesophageal cancer during the period.

The study authors, however, said more research was needed on why drinking very hot tea could associated with the higher risk of esophageal cancer.

A professor of Pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Stephen Evans, said it was the heat that was the issue rather than 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.

Hot drinks, many scientists agree,  were an established risk factor for oesophageal cancer.