Frequent consumption of tea and coffee at high temperatures might be linked to an increased probability of developing stomach cancer. Authors of a large-scale prospective study, published in the scientific journal Food & Function, reached this conclusion. The analysis is based on UK Biobank data, where scientists monitored participants for nearly 12 years, involving over 328 thousand individuals.
During the work, specialists evaluated not only the volume of beverages consumed but also the preferred heat level of the participants. Findings demonstrated that individuals who daily drank more than eight cups of hot drinks had a considerably higher risk of gastric oncological illness compared to those who drank them less often or chose a moderately warm temperature.
The most noticeable correlation was registered among aficionados of very hot tea and coffee. In this cohort, with a high intake level, the likelihood of cancer emergence rose by more than twofold. Such a connection persisted even after adjusting the data considering age, adverse habits, lifestyle, and other risk elements.
The researchers suggest that prolonged exposure to elevated warmth might induce persistent irritation of the gastric lining, intensify inflammatory processes, and encourage tissue damage. All of this, in the authors’ view, establishes favorable circumstances for malignant alterations.
The acquired figures, as the scientists observe, supplement the current understanding regarding the potential detriment of excessively hot beverages and point to a simple yet often overlooked prevention method—lowering the temperature of tea and coffee in the daily diet.
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