With courtesy of QX179R http://sgforums.com/forums/2755/topics/353747
PARIS (AFP) - - People who drink their tea piping hot run a
higher risk of throat cancer than counterparts who prefer a cooler
cuppa, according to an investigation published Friday by the
British Medical Journal.
Cancer of the oesophagus is linked especially to smoking and
alcohol abuse but hot beverages have also been considered a risk
factor, possibly because of damage to throat tissue.
Interested in finding out more, Iranian researchers went to
Golestan province, which has one of the highest rates of
oesophageal cancer in the world.
Inhabitants there sip large quantities of hot black tea --
typically drinking more than a litre (1.8 pints) per day per person
-- but also have a low incidence of tobacco and alcohol use.
A team led by Reza Malekzadeh of the Digestive Disease Research
Centre at Tehran University of Medical Sciences looked at 300
people who had been diagnosed with a throat tumour and a matched
group of 571 healthy people who lived in the same area.
Those who drank hot tea (between 65-69 degrees Celsius, 149-156
degrees Fahrenheit) were twice as likely to develop throat cancer
compared with those who drank warm or lukewarm tea, whose
temperature was 65 C (149 F) or less.
Drinking very hot tea (at least 70 C, 158 F) was associated with
an eightfold increased risk compared with warm or lukewarm tea.
In an editorial, The Lancet said the study backed evidence that
scorching fluids may cause damage to the throat's epithelial lining
and lead to cancer, although exactly how this happens remains
unclear.
But it also said that there was no cause for panic, as most
people tend to drink tea at a warm temperature. Previous studies in
Britain have reported an average temperature preference of 56-60 C
(133-140 F).
It recommended that tea junkies wait at least four minutes
before drinking from a freshly boiled cup.
The study said there was no association between the amount of
tea that was consumed and the risk of cancer.
Its scope did not include an assessment of risk for coffee and
other hot beverages.