Tea may strengthen bones in older women while heavy coffee weakens them

"A recent investigation from Flinders University sheds new light on how two widely consumed drinks, coffee and tea, could play a role in bone health for women later in life. The study, published in the journal Nutrients, monitored nearly 10,000 women aged 65 and older for ten years to examine whether regularly drinking coffee or tea was connected to changes in bone mineral density (BMD). BMD is a central marker used to assess osteoporosis risk."

"Osteoporosis affects one in three women over 50 and leads to millions of fractures every year, making bone health an important global issue. Because coffee and tea are part of daily routines for billions of people, researchers note that understanding their long-term effects on bones is essential. Previous findings have often been inconsistent, and few studies have followed such a large group across an entire decade."

Nearly 10,000 women aged 65 and older had coffee and tea intake and hip and femoral neck bone mineral density measured repeatedly over ten years. Tea consumption associated with slightly higher total hip BMD; the improvement was small but statistically significant. Excessive coffee intake appeared linked to weaker bone, while moderate coffee did not show harmful effects. BMD assessments used advanced imaging focused on areas closely tied to fracture risk. Osteoporosis affects one in three women over 50 and causes millions of fractures annually; small population-level increases in BMD can reduce fracture burden.

Read at ScienceDaily