Next time you make yourself a hot cup of tea orcoffee, you might want to let it cool down a bit before drinking.
Researchers say letting your hot drinks cool off could help you avoid some kinds of cancer.
Whether you are a coffee or tea drinker, let it cool a bit before enjoying!
In fact, the United Nations' cancer researchagency decided to list hot drinks with lead铅, gasoline汽油 and exhaust fumes汽车尾气 as "possibly carcinogenic."In other words, each one could cause cancer.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC) is part of the World Health Organization (WHO). The IARC published the findings in the medical journal Lancet Oncology.
Researchers at IARC found evidence that drinksat temperatures above 65 degrees Celsius, when swallowed, can cause cancer of the esophagus食道.
The researchers examined findings from other studies where tea and coffee were often served at 70 degrees Celsius or above. Those studies were completed in Iran, China andSouth America.
In developed countries, health experts havelinked esophageal cancer to smoking and alcoholic drinks. However, this form of cancer is more common in areas where people drink beverages at very high temperatures.
In Europe and the United States, many people drink coffee and tea at temperatures around 60 degrees Celsius. And they oftenadd milk which lowers the temperature considerably.
However, tea-drinkers in Iran and maté-drinkersin South America often enjoy their beverages at closer to 70 degrees Celsius. Maté is a tea-like brew made by steeping the leaves of the yerba mate plant in near-boiling water.
The researchers note that South Americans notonly drink their maté very hot, they also drink it through a metal straw. This sends the scalding liquid directly into the throat.
The findings, however, are good news for coffee drinkers.
In 1991, the World Health Organization listed coffee as "possibly carcinogenic." WHO officials have since changed their position on that listing. They now suggest that the temperature of your hot drink is a greater risk factor than the actual drink itself.
Christopher Wild is the director of the IARC.When he spoke with the AFP news agency, he said the results "suggest thatdrinking very hot beverages is one probable cause of esophageal cancer and that it is the temperature, rather thanthe drinks themselves, that appears to be responsible."
The National Coffee Association called the change "great news for coffee drinkers."
But how common is esophageal cancer? Worldwide,it is the eighth most common cancer. Cancer of the esophagus killed about 400,000 people in 2012.
I'm Anna Matteo.
参考答案：CDCA