New research suggests two everyday hot drinks — coffee and green tea — could be linked with a lower risk of head and neck cancers. The catch is not just what you drink, but how you drink it.
A woman with a scarf over her head wrapped both hands around her mug and waited, counting under her breath before the first sip. On the noticeboard behind her, a poster quietly listed risks: smoking, alcohol, HPV. Coffee and tea weren’t mentioned.
I sat close enough to hear the low rumble of conversations. A nurse joked about needing a “rocket-fuel” espresso, then glanced at a thermometer poking out of a teapot. It felt oddly symbolic. Our daily rituals, measured to the degree. Somewhere between habit and health, there’s a line.
And the temperature matters.
Two hot drinks, one hopeful signal
Let’s talk about the two cups many of us already pour: coffee and green tea. A new analysis of population data has linked regular intake of both with a modestly lower risk of head and neck cancers — the umbrella term for cancers of the mouth, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx. We’re not in miracle territory. We’re in the realm of subtle, statistically meaningful trends.
**Coffee drinkers showed a modestly lower risk of mouth and throat cancers in population studies.** Green tea, especially in East Asian cohorts, has a similar pattern, pointing to protective compounds rather than magic. It’s the polyphenols — chlorogenic acids in coffee, EGCG in green tea — that get scientists excited. Think anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, maybe even anti-carcinogenic. The everyday drink becomes a quiet ally.
What’s striking is the dose window. Not litres. Not extreme habits. Moderate daily cups appear to correlate with benefit. That matters for real life. Soyons honnêtes : nobody does strict nutrition checklists every day. Most of us just want to know if that morning brew leans helpful or harmful. Right now, the evidence suggests “helpful”, within a pattern of sensible living.
Numbers help anchor the story. Large cohort studies and pooled analyses have found that people who drink coffee — often one to four cups a day — tend to show lower rates of oral and pharyngeal cancers compared with non-drinkers. The effect isn’t dramatic, but it’s consistent across several datasets. Green tea shows a similar trend, particularly where it’s brewed traditionally and consumed plain.
One oncologist I spoke with keeps a mental picture: two curves on a chart inching apart over years of follow-up. Small gap, real lives. The data still sit in the “association” column, not “proof”. But when signals repeat across populations and methods, ears prick up. That’s how public health nudges happen — not with fireworks, but with patterns that refuse to go away.
There’s a flip side. Extremely hot beverages — over roughly 65°C — have been linked with higher oesophageal cancer risk. Heat can scorch tissue, trigger inflammation, and create a friendlier environment for malignant change. So the best version of the coffee-and-tea story includes a pause. Let the steam thin. It’s the same drink, different outcome. **Scalding hot drinks are linked to higher oesophageal cancer risk.**
Why would these drinks help at all? Zoom in on the chemistry. Coffee brings chlorogenic acids and other compounds that seem to quell oxidative stress, damp down chronic inflammation, and support cellular housekeeping. Green tea’s catechins — especially EGCG — step in like bodyguards for DNA, interrupting misbehaving pathways that can lead cells astray. None of this is a silver bullet; it’s more like a seatbelt.
There’s also the lifestyle mesh. People who favour green tea may smoke less or eat more vegetables. Coffee routines can come with social rhythms that curiously correlate with better health literacy. Researchers work hard to adjust for these confounders — smoking, alcohol, HPV status — yet some background noise always remains. That’s why you’ll hear scientists say “linked with” and not “prevents”. Language is careful for a reason.
Then there’s temperature again, the overlooked variable. Two mugs, same beans, different outcomes if one is sipped boiling hot. Tissue isn’t built for daily scalds. Letting a drink cool to “comfortably warm” could be the overlooked hack that preserves the benefits while dodging the burn. It’s almost annoyingly simple. And yes, it counts.
How to drink for benefit, not burn
Think ritual, not regimen. Aim for one to four cups a day of coffee or two to three cups of green tea, spread out, and drink them warm rather than piping. A small, repeatable habit beats heroic bursts. Brew coffee with a paper filter if you can — it reduces diterpenes that nudge cholesterol. For green tea, 70–80°C water, two minutes steeping, and stop. *I used to dunk the bag and walk away; now I set a quiet two-minute timer.*
Cool-down is the hidden move. Pour into a wider mug, give it two to five minutes, and test with a tiny sip. If it feels hot on your tongue, wait. Sugar? Keep it low or skip it — the protective pattern rides on the tea or coffee, not the syrup around it. Milk is fine for most people, although hardcore green tea fans prefer it plain. Evening cups might disrupt sleep. Daylight hours are your friend.
We’ve all had that moment when the kettle clicks, the phone rings, and our best intentions vanish. Life is messy. If your habits are tangled up with smoking or heavy drinking, start there — that’s where the biggest cancer risk sits. And if oral health has been on the back burner, book that hygienist. Small moves, stacked daily, do more than grand plans.
“Coffee and green tea won’t cancel out tobacco or high alcohol intake,” says a head and neck surgeon in London. “Think of them as part of a protective pattern — alongside vaccines, dental checks, and a cooler cup.”
- Keep hot drinks below roughly 65°C. If you don’t have a thermometer, wait until the steam fades and the mug is hand-comfortable.
- Go plain or lightly sweet. The benefits live in the polyphenols, not the sugar.
- Filter coffee if your cholesterol runs high.
- Two-minute steep for green tea to avoid bitterness and get the sweet spot of catechins.
- Pair the habit with mouth-friendly routines: gentle brushing, floss or interdental brushes, and regular dental visits.
The nuance that actually helps
Here’s the honest bit: not everyone reacts the same way. Some people get reflux with coffee. Others find green tea unsettling on an empty stomach. Personalise the habit. If you’re in treatment or living with dry mouth after radiotherapy, a dietitian can help tailor temperatures, flavours, and timings so it’s soothing, not stressful. The goal is comfort you’ll repeat.
On the science, the message is lighter than headlines suggest. Associations are not guarantees. The protective link shows up in groups, not promises to individuals. **Green tea’s catechins are the headline act.** Coffee’s chlorogenic acids are the steady co-star. Together they sketch a potential buffer against the kind of chronic inflammation and DNA misfires that, over years, can tilt cells the wrong way. Paired with a cooler sip, their story gets stronger.
If this sparks a conversation at your kitchen table or office kettle, good. These are the moments where culture shifts a notch — a little less sugar, a little cooler cup, a nudge toward balance. And if a friend needs a prompt to quit smoking or trim back the wine, let the coffee break be the opening, not the lecture. Small things, repeated, quietly change outcomes.
| Point clé | Détail | Intérêt pour le lecteur |
|---|---|---|
| — | Coffee and green tea intake is linked with lower head and neck cancer risk in population studies. | Practical reassurance about everyday drinks you already enjoy. |
| — | Temperature matters: very hot beverages raise oesophageal risk; warm is the safer zone. | A simple tweak — waiting a few minutes — that may protect over time. |
| — | Benefits are modest and sit alongside bigger levers like not smoking, moderating alcohol, and oral health. | Clear priorities for what to do next, beyond the mug. |
FAQ :
- Which two hot drinks are linked with a protective effect?Coffee and green tea. Studies suggest regular, moderate intake correlates with a lower risk of head and neck cancers.
- How many cups are we talking about?Often one to four cups of coffee a day, or two to three cups of green tea. The pattern looks protective without going to extremes.
- Does it have to be plain?Plain or lightly sweet is best. The potential benefit comes from polyphenols like chlorogenic acids (coffee) and EGCG (green tea), not sugar or syrups.
- What about temperature?Let drinks cool below roughly 65°C. Sipping when it’s comfortably warm, not scalding, helps avoid heat damage to mouth and throat tissues.
- Can this replace quitting smoking or cutting alcohol?No. These drinks may add a small protective nudge, but the biggest risk reductions come from not smoking, moderating alcohol, good oral hygiene, and HPV vaccination where appropriate.
