Drinking hot tea linked to cancer
SCARE: Experts say to wait for it to cool
Thursday March 26 2009
A link between drinking very hot tea and cancer should not put people off having a cuppa, scientists have said.
The tea-loving public is advised to let hot drinks stand for at least four minutes -- and researchers say it will taste better if you do.
The recommendations come after a study found the risk of cancer of the oesophagus increased eight-fold as a result of drinking tea with a temperature above 70C.
Previous research recorded an average temperature preference of 56-60C.
But in northern Iran, where a study published in the British Medical Journal today was conducted, large amounts of very hot tea (70C or more) are drunk every day.
Cancer of the oesophagus, the tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach, kills more than 500,000 people worldwide each year.
Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the commonest type.
In Europe and America it is mainly caused by smoking and alcohol use, but drinking hot beverages is also thought to be a risk factor.
Golestan Province in northern Iran has one of the highest rates of OSCC in the world, but smoking and alcohol consumption rates are low.
Researchers studied the tea-drinking habits of 300 people diagnosed with the cancer and a group of 571 healthy people from the same area.
Nearly all drank black tea regularly, consuming on average more than a litre a day.
Lukewarm
Compared with drinking warm or lukewarm tea (65C or less), drinking tea with a temperature of between 65C and 69C doubled the risk of oesophageal cancer, while drinking very hot tea at 70C or more, was associated with an eight-fold increased risk, the study found.
Drinking tea less than two minutes after pouring led to a five-fold higher risk.
The scientists added that brewing your tea for four minutes will let the flavour develop.
hnews@herald.ie
- Paula Fentiman
