Tea Builds Bone Density, Taiwanese Study Finds

[Gauracandra]

Tea Builds Bone Density, Taiwanese Study Finds

 

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Habitual tea drinking over several years preserves bone density in both men and women, Taiwanese researchers said Sunday.

 

"The protective effect of tea on bone mineral density of the total body, lumbar spine and hip regions was clearly demonstrated," wrote study authors Chih-Hsing Wu and Chih-Jen Chang of the National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan, Taiwan.

 

Their report speculated that the high fluoride content in tea, especially green tea, as well as flavonoids and phytoestrogen may help, over time, preserve bone density. Other ingredients in tea may inhibit bone resorption and boost metabolic creation of bone.

 

They concluded it was the duration of habitual tea drinking, not the amount of tea consumed, that conferred the benefit on bones. The effect was most pronounced in the bones of people who had drank tea regularly for more than a decade.

 

Previous studies have credited polyphenols found in tea with helping prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer, the researchers said. But other studies have produced contradictory findings on the relationship between tea drinking and bone formation and bone loss. Ingredients such as caffeine may have a detrimental effect on bones and overall health.

 

Green tea, which is unfermented, and oolong, which is partially fermented, are popular in Asia, while in the West, fermented black tea -- often taken with milk -- is generally preferred. Tea contains 4,000 chemical compounds that can have effects on health, the report said.

 

The study surveyed 497 Chinese men and 540 Chinese women who were at least 30 years old about their tea drinking habits and other lifestyle factors such as exercise, alcohol consumption and smoking.

 

Appearing in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a journal published by the American Medical Association, the researchers claimed it was the first study to examine the impact of all three types of tea on both sexes.

[Guest guest]

 

never take vitamins before or after drinking tea.

The tannic acid in tea inhibits the digestion of nutrients.

Also tea is high in caffiene,which causes hypertension.

the worst thing for causing calcium loss is soda pop, drink only the healthy type which are free from a chemical which causes calcium to be seeped from your bones .

[radharani]

I read that alfalfa tea has a very high calcium content.

[JRdd]

I understand that sesame seeds (and tahini of course) and sunflower seeds also contain a lot of calcium. But I guess you'd have to find ways to really incorporate these little things into your diet, for it to make some difference?

I read that spinach, being high in oxalic acid, also destroys calcium absorption. (I find it interesting that one of our favorite dishes, as devotees, is spinach and curd subji.) I don't remember if the original post stated this already, so forgive any repetition. I'm trying to stay on this computer for as short a time as possible.

ys, JR