Medicine and Health related Information

According to recent research done by Iranian researchers drinking of very hot tea may cause throat cancer. Previously it was found that people who consume lot of tobacco and alcohol are at higher risk of cancer associated with oesophagus and drinking of burning or very hot liquids increase chances of such tumors. Researh has revealed that drinking of very hot tea of above 70 degree celsius of temperature increase the chances of throat cancer when compared to drinking of agreeable degree of heat of less than 65 degree celsius.

Golestan is one of the 30 provinces of Iran and this region is among highest rates of throat cancer but surprisingly the smoking rates and consumption of alcohol is very low. This lead Reza Malekzadeh of Tehran University and his colleagues to study about the concerned disease in that region. They found that almost everyone of that place drink black tea regularly drinking almost a litre every day. They studied the tea-drinking habits of about 300 people who are affected by oesophageal cancer and another 571 healthy individuals from the same region Golestan. They found that people who drink tea within 2 minutes of its preparation when compared to those who give a gap of four or more minutes are at five times more risk of cancer. According to British studies they found that people prefer drinking of tea at an average temperature of 56 degree to 60 degree celsius.

Oesophageal cancer is a kind of tumor which occurs in the oesopagus a muscular tube which is the passage between the pharynx and stomach through which food passes.

But researchers said that it is not clear how consumption of hot tea may cause throat cancer but they gave an idea that damage to the lining of the throat by heat may initiates it. It is already found that oesophagus cancer kills almost about 500,000 people every year worldwide with majority of the disease occuring in Asia, Africa and south America.

Earlier it was reported that Asians do have an enzyme deficiency which may lead to oesophageal cancer when they drink alcohol.