Tea and Bone Health

Tea and Bone Health
Melinda Hemmelgarn, M.S., R.D.

A new study published in the May 13th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that habitual tea drinking may boost bone mineral density by 5%.

Tea may not be as bone-fortifying as milk, but tea is the most common drink consumed by adults worldwide, after water. The researchers suspect that compounds in tea such as fluoride, phytoestrogens and a group of antioxidants known as flavonoids may work together to protect bones. However, more research is needed to determine if there is a threshold over which tea consumption is no longer beneficial.

The investigators interviewed more than 1,000 men and women aged 30 and older about their tea-drinking habits, exercise routines, use of calcium supplements, consumption of coffee, milk, alcohol, and whether or not they smoked. Bone density was measured at three skeletal sites.

Subjects who were l ong-term habitual tea drinkers, i .e those who drank tea at least once a week, had thicker bones at all sites measured, compared with non-habitual tea drinkers. Those adults who drank black, oolong or green tea regularly for 6 to 10 years had higher bone density at their lumbar spine (the lower back) No benefit was observed in those who drank tea regularly for a lower duration--i.e. 1 to 5 years.

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine 2002;162:1001-1006, courtesy of the University of Missouri's Phytonutrient Research Center

http://outreach.missouri.edu/hesnutrnews/health5-16-02.htm