We’ve been told for years there is a chance the coffee we love so much may put us at risk for certain cancers — and many of us have taken that chance. We love our coffee.
Drinking very hot beverages is a probable cause of esophageal cancer.
But java drinkers, fear no more.
The World Health Organization this week reversed its warning, now saying there is no conclusive evidence drinking coffee causes cancer. There is one caveat, however — it still concludes all “very hot” drinks are probably carcinogenic.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluated the carcinogenicity of drinking coffee, maté, and other very hot beverages. A summary of the final evaluations is published today in The Lancet Oncology.
The IARC states in this latest review, it found “no conclusive evidence for a carcinogenic effect” of coffee drinking. It goes on to mention a number of other studies that have actually shown over the years that coffee may actually reduce the risk for certain types of cancer.
The experts did find that drinking very hot beverages — around 65 degrees Celsius/149 degrees Farenheit or above — “probably does cause cancer of the esophagus.” More studies, however, the IARC states, are needed.
“These 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,” said Dr. Christopher Wild, IARC director.
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Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cause of cancer worldwide and one of the main causes of cancer death, with around 400,000 deaths recorded in 2012.
The U.S. National Coffee Association welcomed the change, telling Reuters the reversal in classification is “great news for coffee drinkers.”
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“We say: Be prudent, let hot drinks cool down,” the WHO’s official spokesman, Gregory Hartl told Reuters, adding that the WHO’s advice was to “not consume foods or drinks when they are at a very hot — scalding hot — temperature.”
Drinking very hot beverages is now classified as probably carcinogenic in IARC’s group 2A category, alongside red meat and nitrogen mustard.
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