Tea Bolsters BMD

Published Online: Saturday, June 1, 2002   [ Request Print ]

Tea can actually boost bone mineral density (BMD) and, thus, bone strength. According to the results of a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, men and women with a long-term tea habit had denser bones at 3 different skeletal sites. This finding occurred regardless of the type or amount of tea they consumed each day. Drinking tea regularly for at least 10 years was estimated to boost BMD by up to 5%.

Researchers suspect that compounds in tea?such as fluoride, phytoestro-gens, and a group of antioxidants known as flavonoids?may work together to protect the bones. However, more research is needed concerning the protective effects of tea, as well as to determine whether there is a threshold over which tea consumption is no longer beneficial.