A scene from the film "The Gingko Bed" has become a meme capturing Koreans' love of iced Americano regardless of the weather. [Still from "The Gingko Bed" / 123RF composite]
A scene from the film "The Gingko Bed" has become a meme capturing Koreans' love of iced Americano regardless of the weather. [Still from "The Gingko Bed" / 123RF composite]

Koreans' love of iced Americano runs so deep that the phrase "eoljuk-a" — short for "I'd rather freeze to death than give up my iced Americano" — has entered everyday speech. Yet many still worry that cold drinks like iced Americano might be bad for their health.

The evidence, however, points in the opposite direction: it is hot Americano that may pose a greater risk. Research has linked the habit of repeatedly drinking beverages hotter than 65 degrees Celsius to an elevated risk of esophageal cancer.

In 2016, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), classified drinking beverages above 65 degrees Celsius as a "probable human carcinogen" (Group 2A).

The IARC said hot beverages are probably capable of causing esophageal cancer, and that the danger most likely lies in the high temperature itself rather than in any particular ingredient. The classification drew on a combination of epidemiological studies and animal experiments showing a link to esophageal cancer.

[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

Repeated thermal stress is considered the key mechanism connecting hot beverages to esophageal cancer risk. As a hot drink passes through the esophagus, it can cause heat damage to the mucosal lining, and when that damage recurs over many years, it may interfere with the tissue's ability to repair and regenerate.

Studies reviewed by the IARC found that esophageal cancer risk tends to rise with the temperature at which beverages are consumed. Research from China, Iran, Turkey and some parts of South America — regions where drinking tea or maté at very high temperatures is culturally common — was included in the assessment.

The National Cancer Center warns that drinking very hot beverages or eating very hot food can burn the mouth and throat, and that a long-term habit of consuming excessively hot drinks may be associated with esophageal cancer risk. Because the esophagus serves as a passageway for food and drink, the center says, avoiding repeated thermal stress on it is advisable.


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