Tea is often associated with a number of health benefits, but if your daily cup of char is too hot, you may dramatically increase your risk of throat cancer, according to a new study. Hot tea increases the risk of  risk of throat cancer.

 

A new International Journal of Cancer study found that those drinking very hot daily tea daily had higher risk for esophageal (throat) cancer.

 

Researchers tracked the habits of more than 50,000 tea drinkers over a 10-year period, and discovered 317 new cases of esophageal cancer were developed. The study found that those who drank more than 700 ml of tea a day at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) had a 90 percent higher risk for esophageal cancer. “Based on the results of our study, drinking hot tea is associated with an increased risk of esophageal cancer,” said Farhad Islami, the study’s lead author. Many people typically drink beverages like coffee, tea and hot chocolate at temperatures lower than 149 degrees Fahrenheit, but the study found that  in South America, Asia and Africa, tea is served much hotter.

 

It’s the temperature not the type of beverage that poses a threat. Researchers said chronic thermal injury could cause inflammation that could lead to cancer or make it easier for carcinogens ingested through food or drink to penetrate the esophageal lining. Previous studies have examined the link between hot beverages and cancer, including a 2018 China-based study published in Annals of Internal Medicine that found drinking hot tea, when combined with heavy alcohol and tobacco use, significantly increases the risk of esophageal cancer. The World Health Organization, in 2016, said drinking coffee, tea and other beverages at temperatures hotter than 149 degrees Fahrenheit “probably causes cancer.” The research says there is no known health benefit from drinking very hot beverages and advises that people wait for their hot beverages to cool down reasonably before drinking.