Lovers of hot drinks beware, you mighty be in for more than just a burnt tongue.
In a study published by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), scientists have found a possible link between the consumption of very hot beverages and a greater risk of developing esophageal cancer.
The research looked into more than 1,000 different past studies on the link between drinking hot beverages and the development of cancer. The researchers discovered that people who have traditionally consumed very hot beverages, like the Chinese, Turks, and those living in South American countries, have a higher risk of developing esophageal cancer, the Global Times reported.
Even when scientists take into account other cancer risk factors like smoking, the risk brought about by hot beverages still remained high.
Researchers also noted that the same trend appears in animal studies, in which even just hot water can increase the risk. The team surmised that this may be due to high-temperature liquids scalding the delicate tissues lining the esophagus.
According to Dana Loomis, deputy head of the IARC's carcinogens classification program, even just 60 degrees Celsius can scald the skin. As such, it might lead to "thermal injuries" when these liquids come into contact with the digestive system's inner tissues, which, in turn, could promote the growth of tumors.
However, Loomis also pointed out that there is still the need to gather more experimental studies to support the conclusion.
Meanwhile, the same IARC study also downgraded coffee as a cancer risk. According to the team, they did not find sufficient evidence to suggest that drinking coffee itself can lead to cancer, Fox News reported. The center earlier classified coffee as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."
Th IARC study was published in the journal Lancet Oncology.