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Have Another Cup Of Joe, It's OK, Really

CHICAGO (CBS) – Go ahead and pour another cup of coffee, it just might be good for you.

CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports, the World Health Organization is now making coffee easier to swallow.

It is no longer classifying the beverage as a possible carcinogen because research isn't proving it.

Cancer specialists say coffee may actually be linked to lower rates of Parkinson's and dementia

"As a cancer specialist, I never thought twice about coffee from a cancer standpoint," said Dr. Samer Al-Khudari, of Rush University Medical Center.

Still, on the web and you'll find a growing interest in especially hot drinks from other countries, like the South American yerba mate tea, often consumed beyond 160 degrees.

Researchers warn those kinds of burning temperatures are probably carcinogenic, linked to higher rates of esophageal cancer.

"The thought is that high-temperature drinks cause some kind of injury that predisposed someone to get cancer," Al-Khudari said.

The American palate, say coffee experts, isn't accustomed to those extreme temperatures and such drinks typically aren't consumed here.

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