After the end of year festivities, while millions of people around the world resume their routine with a cup of coffee or tea — the most consumed drinks globally after water —, an unprecedented study brings surprising news about these everyday habits.
research reveals that these popular drinks can have important impacts on bone health, especially in postmenopausal women, something that, until this investigation was carried out, still remained controversial in the scientific community.
Conducted by scientists at Flinders University in Australia, the work repeatedly monitored both beverage consumption and bone mineral density over 10 years — which represents a methodological approach never before undertaken.
This monitoring defines the difference of the work. While previous studies linked coffee and tea consumption to bone density at just one point in time, the current investigation used data from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) to monitor 9,704 women aged 65 and over.
In this secondary data analysis, authors Ryan Yan Liu and Enwu Liu analyzed changes in hip and femoral neck mineral density over a decadecrossing this information with the consumption habits of the participants. It is worth mentioning that the researchers only analyzed traditional tea (black or green, derived from the plant Camellia sinensis).
Coffee or tea: correct doses and individual reactions
By investigating these areas strongly associated with fracture risk during a 10-year window, the authors found that tea consumption was positively associated with greater bone mineral density in the participants’ hips. It is worth mentioning that the researchers only analyzed traditional tea (black or green, derived from the plant Camellia sinensis).
Although the difference may seem insignificant on an individual basis (about 0.003 g/cm²), this small improvement multiplied by millions of people results in thousands of fractures avoided per year. In other words, a simple and cheap habit can reduce hospitalizations and costs in a country’s healthcare system.
In the case of coffee, the scenario is more complex. Although the study found no evidence that simply drinking coffee could harm your bones, the analysis revealed a warning pattern: consuming more than five cups of coffee a day may be associated with lower bone density.
In practice, this means the following: when you drink up to two or three cups of coffee a day (which is considered moderate consumption), nothing happens to your bones. But, if you exceed the threshold of five cups a day, .
What most intrigued scientists, however, was the realization that each woman’s body reacts differently depending on her life history and physical constitution: high alcohol consumption in the past can enhance the negative effect of coffee on bones, but obesity seems to offer greater bone protection to women who drink tea.
Beyond flavor, a health ritual
The good news, notes the study’s first author, Ryan Liu, in a statement, is that “laboratory studies have shown that although these effects are small, they can be lessened with the addition of milk.”
In other words, preventing osteoporosis doesn’t need to be complicated or based solely on medication or diet, says co-author Enwu Liu. A common and enjoyable habit like enjoying a good cup of tea a day may be enough to promote bone health as you age.
Although the authors consider that the differences found do not suggest expressly banning coffee, the truth is that, in this dispute over who has the greatest impact on bones, tea came out on top: while the drink showed benefits for the hips, coffee fluctuated between being harmless (in low doses) and harmful (in excess).
“Our results don’t mean that you need to give up coffee or start drinking gallons of tea,” explains Liu. But drinking the ancient infusion in moderation emerges as a simple and effective measure to promote the health of our skeleton.
Despite knowing that calcium and vitamin D remain essential for bone health, these consumers discovered from the new study that “enjoying a daily cup of tea can be more than a comforting ritual; it can be a small step towards stronger bones”, concludes the Flinders professor.
