Green tea has a reputation for fighting off certain cancers, but a new study suggests that slurping it hot can actually raise the risk of esophageal cancer. The researchers studied 5,400 Chinese adults and compared tea-drinking habits among those with esophageal cancer and those without. Compared to people who drink no tea, those who drank boiling hot tea water were two or three times more likely to develop this condition. Those who did not use boiling water to make their tea were not more prone to esophageal cancer. The scientists advise that liquids such as tea, coffee or even soup should not be consumed steaming hot.
[International Journal of Cancer, April 15, 2009.]
