Posted on 12/21/2025 9:07:11 PM PST by ConservativeMind
A new study offers insight into how two of the world's most popular beverages, coffee and tea, may influence bone health in older women.
The research followed nearly 10,000 women aged 65 and older over a decade to explore whether their daily habits of sipping coffee or tea were linked to changes in bone mineral density (BMD), a key indicator of osteoporosis risk..
The team analyzed data from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures, using repeated measures of both beverage intake and BMD at the hip and femoral neck, areas strongly associated with fracture risk.
Over ten years, participants reported their coffee and tea consumption, while researchers measured bone density using advanced imaging techniques.
The study found that tea drinkers had a slightly higher total hip BMD compared to non-tea drinkers. While the difference was modest, it was statistically significant and could have meaningful implications at a population level. Liu.
Coffee, on the other hand, told a more complex story. Overall, moderate coffee consumption, about two to three cups per day, did not appear to harm bone health. However, drinking more than five cups daily was linked to lower BMD, suggesting that excessive intake may be detrimental.
Interestingly, women with higher lifetime alcohol consumption experienced more negative effects from coffee, while tea seemed particularly beneficial for women with obesity.
The authors caution that the observed differences, while statistically significant, are not large enough to warrant dramatic changes for individuals.
"Our results don't mean you need to give up coffee or start drinking tea by the gallon," says Associate Professor Liu.
"But they do suggest that moderate tea consumption could be one simple way to support bone health, and that very high coffee intake might not be ideal, especially for women who drink alcohol.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
So coffee is bad again? I lose track.
Every time you fart, they change their minds. I'm 78, outlived everyone else in my family. Nobody else lived to 78. They all smoked. I never did. Three of them died of lung cancer. I drink two 20 ounce cups of coffee a day. The rest of the day I drink caffeine-free Diet Pepsi because I have Type II diabetes, diagnosed about 30 years ago, and still take only oral meds for it. Years ago they put me on Actonel for osteopenia. It screwed up my liver enzymes so bad, they thought I had liver cancer. Took me off it, and my liver enzymes went back to normal, and have been normal ever since.
Good to see your posts again, ConservativeMind.
I’m 89 and hate tea. Still very healthy on my large cup of half-caf every morning.
I’m pushing 80, and hate tea, too; it has no taste, really.
Have 3-4 cups of strong, darkest, black coffee every day. I even drink it immediately before bed and sleep like a baby.
Mom and Dad had coffee on all day long, and drank it all day long. Dad died at 86, and Mom at 99. She did have osteoporosis, but who knows if that was simply aging, or the coffee? It made her happy, and she almost reached 100 with a clear mind.
Truthfully, there will be dueling coffee good/bad things going on all the time. Pays yer money and ya takes yer chances.
Agree the more the report the more things are baf for you.
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