From VOA Learning English, this is the Health
& Lifestyle report.
Next time you make yourself a hot cup of tea
or coffee, you might want to let it cool down a bit before drinking.
Researchers say letting your hot drinks cool
off could help you avoid some kinds of cancer.
In fact, the United Nations’ cancer research
agency decided to list hot drinks with lead, gasoline and exhaust
fumes as "possibly carcinogenic."
In other words, each one could cause cancer.
The International Agency for Research on
Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health Organization (WHO). The IARC
published the findings in the medical journal Lancet Oncology.
Researchers at IARC found evidence that drinks
at temperatures above 65 degrees Celsius, when swallowed, can cause cancer of
the esophagus.
The researchers examined findings from other
studies where tea and coffee were often served at 70 degrees Celsius or above.
Those studies were completed in Iran, China and South America.
In developed countries, health experts have
linked esophageal cancer to smoking
and alcoholic drinks. However, this form of cancer is more common in areas
where people drink beverages at very high temperatures.
In Europe and the United States, many people
drink coffee and tea at temperatures around 60 degrees Celsius. And they often
add milk which lowers the temperature considerably.
However, tea-drinkers in Iran and maté-drinkers in South America often enjoy
their beverages at closer to 70
degrees Celsius. Maté is a tea-like brew made by steeping the leaves of the yerba mate plant in near-boiling
water.
The researchers note that South Americans not
only drink their maté very hot, they also drink it through a metal straw. This
sends the scalding liquid
directly into the throat.
The findings, however, are good news for
coffee drinkers.
In 1991, the World Health Organization listed
coffee as “possibly carcinogenic.” WHO officials have since changed their
position on that listing. They now suggest that the temperature of your hot
drink is a greater risk factor than
the actual drink itself.
Christopher Wild is the director of the IARC.
When he spoke with the AFP news agency, he said the results "suggest that
drinking very hot beverages is one probable cause of esophageal cancer and that
it is the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, that appears to be
responsible."
The National Coffee Association called the
change "great news for coffee drinkers."
But how common is esophageal cancer?
Worldwide, it is the eighth most common cancer. Cancer of the esophagus killed
about 400,000 people in 2012.
I’m Anna Matteo.
Anna Matteo
adapted this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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