New research released has revealed that there is no conclusive evidence that drinking coffee causes cancer however it also says all “very hot” drinks are probably carcinogenic.
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An global working group of 23 scientists convened by the worldwide Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has evaluated the carcinogenicity of drinking coffee, tea and other “very hot” beverages, described as those over 65°C.
“What the evidence shows overall is that coffee drinking is associated with either reduced risk of several cancers or certainly no clear increase in other cancers”, Kabat explained.
In many parts of the world, coffee, tea or mate is traditionally drunk at about 70 degrees C (158 degrees F), which coincides with elevated esophageal cancer rates.
However, Gregory Hartl, WHO official spokesman to Geneva told Reuters that smoking and drinking alcohol are among the biggest risk factors for cancer of the esophagus and that people should focus on these factors more. Interestingly, reduced risks were seen for liver and uterine endometrium cancers and for 20 other kinds of cancer the evidence was inconclusive.
The United Nations has declassified coffee as a cancer causing agent.
Studies have also found that coffee had strong antioxidant effects and other possible health benefits.
“It is consumed very hot”, said IARC’s Dr Dana Loomis. An influential panel of experts convened by the World Health Organization presented findings that show regularly drinking coffee could help prevent some types of cancer, according to The New York Times.
The finding recorded that “very hot beverages” with temperature of 65 degrees Celsius and above, could lead to esophageal cancer risk.
Coffee has been classed as “possibly carcinogenic to human” since 1991.
The IARC report makes no mention of how many hot beverages it would take to significantly increase one’s chances of cancer.
“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.
Several experiments with rats and mice found “very hot” liquids – including water – could promote the development of tumours.
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That basically means that scientists don’t actually know if coffee causes cancer because the evidence available doesn’t point to a yes or no.
