Tea may protect elderly Bones

A daily cup of tea may protect elderly women from osteoporosis. New research suggests that daily tea-drinking makes the aging bones of elderly women look five years younger and significantly reduces the risk of bone fractures.

Elderly tea-drinkers have 5 percent higher mean bone-mineral density than non-tea-drinkers, Kay-Tee Khaw and colleagues at Cambridge University, England, report. This could mean a 10 percent to 15 percent decline in fracture risk, Khaw's team suggests.

The apparent benefits of drinking tea are independent of whether women smoke, drink coffee or use hormone replacement therapy. It also makes no difference to the bone-mineral density increase if women drink one or two cups or several pots of tea a day.

The positive effects of tea on bone density may be caused by the presence of isoflavonoids, Khaw's team suggests. Flavonoids - brightly colored chemicals found in fruit, vegetables and herbs - are being credited with an increasing number of positive effects on health.