I’ve been publishing headlines and features on news websites for over a decade now. Coffee has made those headlines at least once just about every year over that time either for being particularly healthy (prevents Alzheimer’s! promotes weight loss!) or for being deadly (causes Alzheimer’s! ulcers! Cancer! etc.)
North America’s favourite morning beverage is back in the news today. For both reasons.
A research branch of the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IRAC) which had once classified coffee as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” is reversing that determination in a new report. After analysing over 1,000 different medical studies on the health effects of drinking coffee, the group found that there was no evidence that drinking coffee causes cancer in humans.
In fact, the report states that in coffee drinkers “reduced risks were seen for cancers of the liver and uterine endometrium.”
So that’s good news for those of us who can’t live without our morning coffee. Not only has the original report that it causes cancer been quashed, but there’s also word that it can actually reduce the risk some diseases.
I’m drinking coffee as I type this. It’s the same cup I’ve been nursing and topping up all morning. It’s lukewarm by now. That’s a good thing.
Because here’s the caveat. You probably shouldn’t have your coffee piping hot. The IRAC study also found that drinking “very hot” beverages could potentially raise the risk of cancer and has classified them as “probably carcinogenic.”
You can’t win.
Source: WHO: Coffee itself isn’t cancerous, but watch out for ‘very hot’ beverages