Regular Female Cola Drinkers Have Higher Osteoporosis Risk

09/10/06 Regular female cola drinkers have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis than women who don't drink cola, say researchers from Tufts University, Boston, USA. The new study found the link exists only among women who regularly drink cola, not men.

The study of 2,500 women showed that all women who are frequent cola drinkers - no matter what their age is or what their calcium intake is - have a significantly higher risk of having low bone mineral density than women who do not drink cola.

If a person has low bone mineral density his/her risk of bone fracture is much higher.

The researchers gave the women dietary questionnaires and measured their bone mineral density at the spine and three different hip locations. Women who drank four or more colas each week had lower bone mineral density in all their hip locations (not the spine). Male bone mineral density was the same among regular and non-regular cola drinkers.

The researchers found no link between regular consumption of other carbonated drinks and low bone mineral density among women (or men).

This study got rid of the myth that perhaps regular female cola drinkers have bone problems because they consume less milk. The researchers found that milk consumption among regular cola drinkers was no different from non-regular cola drinkers (except for women who drank massive amounts of cola).

The scientists are not sure what it is in cola that is undermining the health of women's bones. They suspect that phosphoric acid, an ingredient found in all colas, may be the culprit. Perhaps the chemical makes the blood too acidic - calcium is taken out of the bones to balance that out.

The researchers advised regular female cola drinkers to cut down their consumption of colas.