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Comment by andrelaszlo | Hacker News Reader

An Argentinian friend of mine said you get cancer from drinking beverages that are too hot. He sent the Wikipedia page to prove it but only the Spanish version of the page had this information.

Is this another example of culturally specific health "facts" or have I just missed something?

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There's been conflicting information about this over the years. The latest research suggests that it may increase cancer risk when combined with other behaviors that themselves increase risk, but it probably has little to no effect on its own.

https://www.mskcc.org/news/burning-issue-truth-about-hot-dri...

Heard this in France too from MD. Link between drinking too hot (over 60°C) and oesophagus cancer

I think this is true but it's much more of an issue in LatAm countries where they drink mate through metal straws.

In european/North American countries where people normally drink out of ceramic mugs, people generally end up drinking hot drinks at a lower temperature

Huh? How does the straw matter and what is the mechanism of action here? Citation needed.

It's oesophageal cancer specifically, and I think drinking through a metal straw instead of sipping causes higher temperature liquid to be in contact with the throat.

Haven't actually read through the wiki references, but seems like it's an 'association' rather than anything definitive

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba_mate#Cancer

The "hot drinks cause cancer" thing is surprisingly legit

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