Tea Sippers

Although a shortish answer to a question about drinking very hot tea, today’s source raises an interesting health concern that I had never considered. Is there any danger to drinking very hot drinks, or in our case, very hot tea?

Dr. Fred Kavalier answers this question by saying that there have been suggestions in medical literature of an increase in the risk of mouth, soft palate and esophageal cancers. It is difficult,however, to get accurate information about the temperature of drinks of people over the years. He calls it a slight increase in risk in the few studies that have looked at this but that the research is “not strong enough to make a reliable recommendation.”

He ends his answer to the question by saying that if it doesn’t burn your tongue the rest of you is probably fine too.

Source: Drink problem: ‘Will hot tea damage my health?’