Bone loss can be a serious problem as we age, especially forwomen. Several studies have linked caffeine intake and low bone mass. But mostof them looked at women whose caffeine came primarily from coffee. Tea hascaffeine too, but it also contains other chemicals that might have a differentimpact on bone. To learn more, researchers studied more than 1,200 womenbetween the ages of 65 and 76, dividing them into tea drinkers and non–teadrinkers.

Compared with the non–tea drinkers, the tea drinkers hadsignificantly greater bone mass. This finding held no matter how many cups oftea they drank each day and regardless of whether they also smoked, usedhormone replacement therapy, or drank coffee. The researchers wondered whetherthe better bone mass might have come from adding milk to their tea, so theylooked at that too. It turned out that bone mass was higher in the tea drinkersregardless of whether they took their tea with milk. While the researchersaren’t sure why caffeinated tea isn’t as harmful as coffee, they speculate thatthe flavonoids in tea may have a protective effect on bone mass.

Don’t Neglect Dairy

Keri Gans, RD, a spokesperson for the American DieteticAssociation, says that while the study’s findings are interesting, they shouldbe interpreted cautiously, as just “one piece of what is undoubtedly a morecomplex puzzle.” Until the issue is studied further, Gans advises women tostick with what is well known. “Tea won’t replace the calcium and vitamin D indairy,” she notes. “A diet rich in low-fat dairy products is what we know to betried-and-true for supporting bone health.”

Online Bone Checkup

There’s nothing like a personalized evaluation of yourosteoporosis risk to motivate you to do something about it if it is a problem.Now that evaluation is as convenient as sitting down to your computer, thanksto the National Institutes of Health’s new interactive Web tool called Check UpOn Your Bones (www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone [2]).

Simply fill out a brief questionnaire that includesquestions about your age, gender, family history of osteoporosis and brokenbones, lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise, medical conditions, andmedications. (Your answers are private and will not be saved; you will not beasked for your name.) The tool uses this information to create a personalprofile and in turn produce a statement of your individual osteoporosis riskand the steps you can take to reduce that risk. It also provides a summary youcan bring to your doctor and a list of Web resources tailored to your profile.