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Some studies found that there are some foods that may increase your risk of developing health problems associated with bone. Is there a link between coffee (caffeine) and osteoporosis? What are foods that you should avoid if you seriously want to decrease your risk of developing this disease? You may also be interested to read about ‘can osteoporosis be reversed‘, before continuing!
As well we know that vitamin D and calcium (Ca) are the most essential nutrients to keep bones healthy. Both are also so essential to prevent osteoporosis and other health conditions associated with the bone. Getting adequate amounts of both calcium & vitamin D (particularly during teenage years) is closely associated with the high peak bone mass that you will attain! More peak bone mass that you attained -- the less likely you are to get osteoporosis as you age.
The correlation between coffee and osteoporosis
Almost anything that you consume excessively is not good for your health, including coffee. Some scientifically evidences from some studies suggest that excessive caffeine consumption may contribute to increase the risk of bone loss.
According to a published article on WebMD -- A study found that elderly women (particularly for those who are in the postmenopausal (the phase after menopause)) who consumed caffeine higher than 300 milligram a day experienced higher rate of bone loss in the spine than others who consumed lower than 300 milligram a day.
How does caffeine cause bone loss?
A professor of human nutrition at Washington State University “Linda K. Massey, PhD, RD” says that caffeine can leach calcium (the most essential nutrient for bone’s living tissue), which then can sap the strength of the bones.
Though the number of a calcium loss due to calcium is not as much of a loss as salt, but it’s important to consume coffee in moderation. For each 100 mg of caffeine (C8H10N4O2) ingested can be potential to lose about 6 mg of Ca.
The big problem may occur in individuals (particularly for those who have some risk factors of osteoporosis) who consume coffee regularly but at the same time they don’t get adequate calcium intake each day.
So if you are a coffee lover, what you should do?
For healthy individuals, getting adequately Ca from dietary and consuming caffeine for less than 300 mg is believed helpful enough to offset the problem of bone loss due to caffeine.
But if you have some risk factors of health problems associated with bone (such as osteoporosis), ask your doctor to get to know the safely level of caffeine per day that you should follow -- your doctor may recommend lower level of caffeine consumption per day!
How about with tea?
As well we know that tea also contains caffeine, but fortunately caffeine in tea is much lower than in coffee. You may also like to know how much caffeine in green tea?!
However, coffee is still one of major caffeine sources. High-caffeine sodas can provide about 80 mg or more of caffeine for each can. And a cup of coffee (16-ounce cup) can contain about 329 mg of caffeine.
Many researchers believe that tea is not harmful for the health of the bones (especially if consumed in moderation), and even tea may help promote better bone density (particularly for elderly women). Furthermore, some experts think that tea may provide essential plant compounds to provide better protection for bone.
Why you need to limit salt in diet to keep your bones healthy?
Salt is another food that you should concern in your diet. Excessive consumption of salt is not only bad for the level of your blood pressure (can cause hypertension), but also bad for the density of your bones. It can pose a significant obstacle to a sturdy skeleton.
Some studies found that women with postmenopausal can lose more bone density if they have high-salt diet. The safely level of sodium should be less than a teaspoon of salt (about 2,300 mg) per day -- according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in 2005. But unfortunately in fact, most Americans have at least 4,000 mg of sodium through salt per day.
In general, each 2,300 mg of sodium that we consume will cause about 40 mg of calcium loss through urine. Therefore, once again it’s very important to get adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D to counterbalance the bone loss due to salt that you consume!
What else you should concern to prevent osteoporosis?
- Adding free-fat milk to the beverage (like coffee or tea) is also recommended for coffee or tea drinkers, this is one of options to reduce the negative effect of caffeine in the beverage that can lose bone density. Don’t forget, caffeine-laden drinks also should be avoided!
- There is a rumor that eating animal protein is bad for the strength of bones. But this is only a myth. After calcium and vitamin D, protein is the most essential nutrient for bones -- even 50 percent of bone is protein! Therefore, it is also important to get adequate amounts of protein in your diet.
- We all agree that soy is bone-building protein, but having heavy diet on soy should be followed by eating other high-calcium foods. Some studies found that eating excessive soy in diet without getting adequate amounts of calcium from other foods may hamper Ca absorption. Moreover to keep safe, it is much better to consume soy or soy products in moderation! You may also like to read soy allergy symptoms!
- Don’t forget also to consider fresh fruits, vegetables, and minimally processed whole grains in your diet to get more health benefits in the long run, including to lower the risk of osteoporosis.
