If you drink your coffee piping hot or your tea the second it’s finished steeping, you may be at a higher risk of esophageal cancer. The esophagus is often referred to as “the food pipe.”
A study using nearly a million people found that those who drank “very hot” drinks had a three times higher risk of esophageal cancer than people who enjoyed their drinks warm. But they did stress that esophageal cancer is rare.
Scorching liquid can harm the cells of the esophagus as it’s swallowed. Very hot drinks are defined as being anything 149 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Drinking six or more hot drinks daily also raises the risk. It should be noted that the research came from Oxford, and the common practice of drinking a constant flow of cups of tea in England makes drinking six or more hot drinks more common there.
Older research from South America found a link between hot drinks and esophageal cancer. There, people drink piping hot mate.
“International research has shown for some time that drinking beverages like mate at very high temperatures, as is typical in South America, is linked to increased risk of certain oesophageal cancers,” explained Dr Keren Papier, lead researcher and senior nutritional epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health. “What was less clear was whether this also applied to the temperatures at which hot drinks are usually consumed in [European] populations.”
In America, Starbucks lets you order drinks “extra hot.” Their beverages are already served at over 150. You have to order it “warm” or “kids’ temperature” to get it at a safer temperature range. Starbucks serves their drinks so hot because they expect you to drink them in another location. So, if you intend to drink it in the coffee shop, order your beverage “warm” for 140 degrees or “kids’ temperature” for 130. Many consider “warm” to be the “drink it now” temperature.
There are other risk factors in esophageal cancer. Smoking and drinking alcohol are both known contributors to the condition. “The most important ways to reduce the risk of this cancer type are not smoking and cutting down on alcohol,” said Fiona Osgun, head of health information at Cancer Research UK.
What we tolerate temperature-wise varies from person to person. In a study with 118 young adults, they thought drinks were too hot if they were 158 or above. So taking a sip wouldn’t necessarily tell you if you were in the danger zone.
