The World Health Organization's research arm has downgraded
its classification of coffee as a possible carcinogen, declaring there isn't
enough proof to show a link to cancer.
But the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC,
also announced in a report published on Wednesday that drinking "very
hot" beverages of any kind could potentially raise the cancer risk.
In particular, it cited countries including China, Iran and
those in South America, where teas such as the bitter herbal infusion mate are
traditionally drunk at extremely high temperatures — above 65 or 70 degrees
Celsius (150 or 160 Fahrenheit) — considerably hotter than drinks would
normally be served in cafes across North America and Europe.
Experts convened by the Lyon-based IARC concluded that there
was inadequate evidence to suggest coffee might cause cancer, according to a
letter published in the Lancet Oncology.
"I'm not really sure why coffee was in a higher
category in the first place," said Owen Yang, an epidemiologist at Oxford
University who has previously studied the possible link between coffee and
cancer. He was not part of the IARC expert group. "The best evidence
available suggests that coffee does not raise the cancer risk," he said.
Drinking very hot beverages, however, just might.
Dana Loomis, deputy head of the IARC program that classifies
carcinogens, said they began to look into a possible link after seeing
unusually high rates of esophageal cancer in countries where drinking very hot
beverages is common. He said that even at temperatures below 60 degrees Celsius
(140 Fahrenheit), hot beverages can scald the skin, and that consuming drinks
at even higher temperatures could be harmful.
Loomis said very hot beverages might cause a "thermal
injury" in the throat that could eventually promote the growth of tumors,
but that evidence was limited. He said there wasn't enough evidence to suggest
if eating very hot food might also be risky.
Other experts said that people should remain focused on the
leading causes of cancers including of the esophagus and that there were more
important changes they could make other than waiting for their drinks to cool.
"Quitting smoking and reducing alcohol consumption are
much more significant for reducing cancer risk than the temperature of what
you're drinking," said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the
American Cancer Society. Brawley said the cancer risk posed by drinking hot
beverages was similar to that posed by eating pickled vegetables.
Still, he welcomed the news that coffee would no longer be
deemed a possible carcinogen.
"As a heavy coffee drinker, I have always enjoyed my
coffee guilt-free," he said. "But now there is scientific evidence to
justify that."
-AP
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