Let hot things cool before you drink them; don't drink scalding tea, soup or coffee

Cost

Free, and it costs 2 or 3 extra minutes each time. The hard part is holding back when you're eager to drink.

What you get

In an area of northern Iran where esophageal cancer is common, 300 patients were compared with 571 people without the disease. All comparisons below are against people who drank warm tea. People who drank “hot” tea had about 2.07 times the odds of esophageal squamous cell cancer (odds ratio, 95% CI 1.28–3.35, the plausible range). Those who drank “very hot” tea had about 8.16 times (3.93–16.9). People who drank within 2 minutes of pouring had about 5.41 times the odds of those who waited 4 minutes or more (2.63–11.1)

Notes

The International Agency for Research on Cancer lists hot drinks above 65 ℃ as Group 2A, meaning probably carcinogenic. The same assessment concluded that coffee itself does not cause cancer. Esophageal cancer is common in Chaoshan and the Taihang Mountains area of China, and is linked to the habit of drinking things piping hot

Evidence grade

A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.

Sources

1. Islami F, Pourshams A, Nasrollahzadeh D, et al. (2009). Tea drinking habits and oesophageal cancer in a high risk area in northern Iran: population based case-control study. BMJ, 338, b929. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b929
2. Loomis D, Guyton KZ, Grosse Y, et al. (2016). Carcinogenicity of drinking coffee, mate, and very hot beverages. Lancet Oncology, 17(7), 877-878. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(16)30239-X

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 2, tip 30. This section is about health and medicines. It is general information, not a substitute for a doctor’s diagnosis or prescription. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer