We all hate the C-word. No, not that C-word! Cancer.
In the US, nearly one in twenty people have been diagnosed with cancer or have it now, according to the American Cancer Society.
Some cancers are genetically predetermined but in all honesty, some of our daily habits can significantly raise our risk of getting some form of cancer eventually, specifically the things we consume.
Here are some of the drinks that science suggests are leading to more cancer cases, and even deaths.
1. Ethyl alcohol
Liquor, or alcohol, contains ethyl alcohol typically made from fermenting sugars (such as those from grapes) or starches (such as potatoes or rice) with yeast.
Alcohol is harmful because it causes irritation to body tissues, making it easier for carcinogens (cancer-causing compounds) to take residence in DNA and cause damage in the body.
Scientists have done numerous studies on the harmful effects that drinking alcohol can have on your body, and how it can contribute to several different kinds of cancer in humans. How much you drink at one time is important as well — the more you drink, the greater your risk of developing different kinds of cancers, including head, neck, throat, liver, breast, and colon.
A global study of drinkers in 195 countries published in 2018 found that no matter where people live, heavier drinkers are more likely to develop cancer, and they’re also more likely to die from cancer and many other causes.
For instance in France, where people drink an average of 2.7 glasses of alcohol a day, alcohol kills roughly 49,000 people every year. Health officials in the wine-loving country are now encouraging French people to drink less.
2. Sugar-filled drinks
Sugar is linked to several cancer cases and there’s even some evidence it can help tumors grow faster and more aggressively.
Sugar-filled drinks can be the main culprit in this situation. A recent 34-year study of more than 118,000 men and women across the US suggested that people who drink more sugar-sweetened beverages are more likely to die from all sorts of things, including breast and colon cancers.
When we drink sugar from beverages such as juice or soda, fructose rushes into the liver, unabated by key nutrients, such as fiber, that slow down digestion and help us feel full and satiated.
3. Very hot beverages
It has been found that hot drinks served at near-boiling temperatures can also up a person’s risk of developing cancer in the tube that moves food and drinks from our mouths to our stomachs.
In one recent study, people in northeastern Iran who drink two cups of very hot tea every day likewise nearly doubled their risk of developing esophageal cancer when compared with Iranians who waited for their brew to chill.
Fortunately, scientists have discovered the esophageal-cancer risk from hot beverages is relatively small. In the Iranian study, it amounted to about 17 extra cases per 100,000 people. It is also fairly easy to avoid drinking things that are too hot to handle.
Be kind to your tongue and your esophagus, and simply wait a few minutes before you enjoy your cup of tea, coffee, or mate.
4. Coffee
For decades, researchers have tried to see if a link exists between coffee drinking and cancer risk, but have come up short due to confounding factors like cigarette smoking, which could also increase cancer risk.
An ongoing study, however, is looking at over 1.2 million people who are smokers, previous smokers, or non-smokers. Results are still preliminary, but researchers have found that people in all three of these categories who drank two or more cups of coffee or tea daily had an increased risk of lung cancer.
Lead study author Dr. Xiao Ou Shu said her team was unable to control for secondhand smoke and changes in smoking behavior, so the final results likely won’t offer a complete picture on coffee and cancer risk.
Coffee roasting produces a chemical compound called acrylamide that cannot be removed from coffee before it’s consumed.
Acrylamide is dangerous when it’s consumed in large doses (it’s one of the toxic chemicals that smokers inhale), but there’s no evidence that the tiny dose found in coffee is harmful to our bodies.
Though a California judge ruled in 2018 that coffee sellers in that state must include labels warning customers about the possible cancer risks from acrylamide in coffee, health experts aren’t completely sold that the rule is based on the best science.
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is taking the law to task, saying there hasn’t been enough fact-based support to conclude that coffee causes cancer. The US Food and Drug Administration agrees and said a cancer warning on coffee is more likely to confuse and mislead consumers than help them out.
What’s more, both the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the American Cancer Society say scientific research suggests coffee can actually be thought of as a cancer fighter because it can reduce people’s risk of developing certain cancers in the breast, liver, and colon.
Coffee also has a lot of other health benefits attached to it, especially when it comes to our aging hearts.
It’s the one drink on this list that’s arguably safe to continue drinking as much as you like.
Jasmine Browley holds an MA in journalism from Columbia College Chicago, and has contributed to Ebony, Jet and MADE Magazine among others. So, clearly, she knows some stuff. Follow her digital journey @JasmineBrowley.
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