SHARES
Coffee, a major source of caffeine, is said to be a bad guy especially if you have osteoporosis. This is because caffeine is linked to causing a reduction in bone mass – increasing the risk of bone fracture.
Yet the latest new studies from Hong Kong and Taiwan show the opposite effect. Notably, consuming coffee may be good for bone health!
What is the evidence: Is coffee bad for bone health?
Apparently, human physiological studies do show that caffeine has a depressant effect on calcium absorption. But the effects are insignificant. Moreover, the negative effect of caffeine on calcium absorption can be made up for by just drinking 2 tablespoons of milk.
Furthermore, in these observational studies, there is no detection of calcium loss from the total 24-hour urinary calcium excretion. In gist, caffeine hardly causes calcium loss from the body system.
Researchers believe the explanation for the drop in bone strength could be due to lower consumption of milk, a tendency among habitual coffee drinkers. Obviously, the lower the milk consumption, the more negative the impact. After all, drinking less milk does deprive the body of a sufficient good source of calcium, essential for bone health.
Beneficial Effects of Coffee on Bone Health from Latest Research
Surprisingly, the latest study on 564 coffee drinkers in Hong Kong and 2682 participants in Taiwan show positive effect of specific coffee metabolites on bone density, hence resulting in lower fracture risk.
In the Taiwan study, significantly definite positive results were found only among premenopausal women, for medium and high coffee drinking. The trend was significant on the reading for higher Bone Mineral Density (BMD) T-scores.
In conclusion, the study demonstrates clearly the correlation between coffee drinking to a higher bone density in men and premenopausal women. Given this study outcome, coffee drinkers may expect to benefit from lower risks of bone fracture.
Steps to Better Bone Health
Strive towards adequate levels of Vitamin D and Vitamin K in the system, ensure a good calcium intake and do weight bearing exercises. Last but not least, go for a bone-healthy diet packed with proteins, omega-3, and green vegetables.
So coffee drinkers – go ahead and enjoy your usual cuppas. Take heart that coffee may be good for bone health too, besides several other health benefits.
References
- Does coffee drinking have beneficial effects on bone health of Taiwanese adults? A longitudinal study [dated Nov 2018} https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-6168-0
- Serum Metabolome of Coffee Consumption and its Association With Bone Mineral Density: The Hong Kong Osteoporosis Study [cited Mar 2020]: https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/105/3/e619/5637088?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Further Reading:
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by Wong Mei Chan
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