The fear of bone loss is the main reason why many women hold the “expectation and fear of harm” feeling towards coffee.
Coffee has long been considered a risk factor for osteoporosis, as its diuretic effect increases water excretion in the body, and past studies have found that caffeine increases the excretion of calcium in the urine. So, does this mean that drinking coffee leads to more calcium loss?
In fact, this is not necessarily the case, because when you look at the body’s functioning mechanism, in order to achieve a balanced system, the calcium absorption rate is high and the calcium excreted through the urine will also increase, which does not mean that there is a problem with maintaining bone density; on the contrary, after women stop menstruating, the rapid loss of bone mass due to the rapid decline of estrogen is the most important factor affecting bone density.
From epidemiological data, past studies have found that for women aged 20 to 50, caffeine intake and bone loss and fracture incidence are not correlated, but if older women often drink more than four cups of coffee a day and have a smoking habit, it is likely to affect bone density.
Middle-aged women control coffee intake
Another trial of 3,170 women aged 50 to 84 also pointed out that drinking more than two units of caffeine per day (two cups of coffee or two cups of tea) increased the risk of hip fracture by nearly 70%, indicating that women in their later middle age should control their daily coffee and tea intake and enhance their calcium intake from their daily diet in order to slow down the rate of bone loss. Excessive coffee consumption in the elderly may be associated with osteoporosis, but if the appropriate amount of calcium supplementation, this effect can be ignored.
Recommended reading:
