Whether you enjoy tea, coffee, or any other beverage at any time of day, hot liquids can provide comfort, especially during the colder months. But the hot liquids you drink while they’re still very hot have been linked to esophageal cancer, according to various scientific studies. Find out more in the following article.
What is the link between hot liquids and cancer?
There is no evidence for a link between hot liquids and throat cancer, and the evidence for a link between hot liquids and stomach cancer is unclear. But there is a link between hot liquids and esophageal cancers.
In 2016, the International Agency for Research on Cancer categorized drinking very hot liquids – above 65 degrees Celsius – as a “probable human carcinogen,” the same risk category as indoor wood smoke emissions or eating large amounts of red meat.
The IAEA report found that temperature, not liquids, was responsible.
This report is mainly based on evidence from South America, where studies have found a link between drinking a lot of yerba mate – a traditional herbal liquid usually drunk at a temperature of around 70 degrees Celsius – and a higher risk of esophageal cancer.
Similar studies in the Middle East, Africa and Asia have also supported the link between drinking very hot beverages and esophageal cancer.
A large study, conducted this year on nearly half a million adults in the United Kingdom, confirmed that drinking larger amounts of very hot liquids is associated with esophageal cancer, according to Science alert.
How the idea that hot liquids may increase the risk of esophageal cancer came about
This idea is not new; it dates back to at least the 1930s. The theory was that hot liquids, such as coffee or tea, could damage the inner lining of the esophagus, requiring the cells to constantly regenerate. During this process, the likelihood of something going wrong and turning normal cells into cancer cells increases. Long ago, animal studies suggested that very hot liquids may cause this damage, but this was at temperatures higher than those people typically drink.
More recently, this link has been noted in a statement by the World Health Organization and various scientific studies, according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Why do hot liquids cause cancer?
Drinking too many very hot liquids can damage the cells lining the esophagus, and it is thought that over time this may lead to cancer. Researchers first suggested this link nearly 90 years ago.
What we know about how hot liquids affect the esophagus comes mainly from animal studies.
Very hot water may accelerate the growth of cancer. An animal study was conducted in 2016 on cancer-prone mice. Mice given very hot water (70 degrees Celsius) were more likely to develop cancerous tumors in the esophagus, and faster, than mice given water at lower temperatures
Another theory suggests that heat damage to the lining of the esophagus weakens its natural barrier, increasing the risk of further damage from gastric acid reflux (from the stomach). Over time, this chronic damage can increase the chance of esophageal cancer
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