Study links hot drinks to cancer: What to know about your coffee and tea (2024)

FAQs

Study links hot drinks to cancer: What to know about your coffee and tea? ›

“Many people enjoy drinking tea, coffee, or other hot beverages

Drinking hot tea doesn't cause cancer on its own. If you regularly drink tea or other hot beverages and you have other risk factors like smoking and drinking alcohol, you may have a higher risk of one kind of esophageal cancer.

Is it safe for cancer patients to drink coffee? For the most part, coffee is safe to drink for most cancer patients, says Carolyn Lammersfeld, Vice President of Integrative Care Services at City of Hope Cancer Centers Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix.

Drinking tea that is too hot increases the risk of burns and esophageal cancer. Be sure to let tea cool to below 140°F (60°C) before consuming it. Additionally, true tea contains caffeine, which has negative effects in high doses in certain populations.

So how hot is too hot? There seemed to be an increase in esophageal cancer only when people consistently drank extremely hot beverages. The National Coffee Association USA recommends holding coffee at 180 degrees Fahrenheit, but drinking beverages below 149 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid damaging the esophagus.

The bottom line is that with coffee and caffeine, most health experts agree that these things do not increase cancer risk, and in some cases, may even decrease risk. But don't forget that caffeine can negatively affect people with other health conditions.

Lung damage: The smoke from tea or any other smoked substance can damage the lungs. Over time, the lungs must repeatedly repair themselves, increasing the risk of lung cancer and other lung diseases.

"Cancer-fighting foods"

The list is usually topped with berries, broccoli, tomatoes, walnuts, grapes and other vegetables, fruits and nuts. "If you look at the typical foods that reduce cancer risk, it's pretty much all plant foods that contain phytochemicals," says Wohlford.

For people being treated for cancer, regularly consuming a few beers or co*cktails also has other potentially harmful consequences, including making their treatments less effective. And for longer-term cancer survivors, there is some evidence that regular alcohol use may increase the chances of their cancer returning.

Tea and coffee contain tannins and these are acidic. If a person is already suffering from acidity, tea and coffee on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning, can aggravate the issue. The bitterness of coffee can also trigger the release of acid in the stomach.

How many cups of hot tea is too much? ›

Though moderate intake is healthy for most people, drinking too much could lead to negative side effects, such as anxiety, headaches, digestive issues, and disrupted sleep patterns. Most people can drink 3–4 cups (710–950 ml) of tea daily without adverse effects, but some may experience side effects at lower doses.

However, on average a cup of tea contains 47mg of caffeine. Doctors recommend a caffeine intake of no more than 400mg to reduce your chance of negative symptoms like restlessness, insomnia, headaches, dizziness, and dehydration. Therefore, in terms of caffeine, many consider more than 8 cups of tea to be too much.

Coffee, tea, and maté may cause esophageal cancer (EC) by causing thermal injury to the esophageal mucosa. If so, the risk of EC attributable to thermal injury could be large in populations in which these beverages are commonly consumed.

Esophagitis may feel like: A sore throat. Heartburn. Difficulty swallowing.

Esophageal thermal injury can be caused by ingestion of hot liquid (hot tea or soup) [1], [2], [3], hot food (hamburger, lasagna, prawn) [4], [5], [6], freebase cocaine [7], or by left atrial catheter ablation [8]. Patients commonly present with odynophagia, dysphagia, and chest pain.

Hyperthermia is a type of treatment in which body tissue is heated to as high as 113 °F to help damage and kill cancer cells with little or no harm to normal tissue. Hyperthermia to treat cancer is also called thermal therapy, thermal ablation, or thermotherapy.

While there have been studies that suggest capsaicin can act as a cancer preventive agent, and frequent consumption protects against the risk of gastrointestinal cancers, there are also researches that show that a high dose of capsaicin allows it to act as a carcinogen in our body.

Squamous cell esophageal cancer is linked to smoking and drinking too much alcohol. Adenocarcinoma is the more common type of esophageal cancer. Having Barrett esophagus increases the risk for this type of cancer.

Hot water can promote relaxation and reduce stress levels, which can help to improve sleep quality. Additionally, it can help to soothe a sore throat or cough, which can disrupt sleep. Drinking hot water can also aid digestion and prevent stomach discomfort or bloating, which can also interfere with sleep.