A meta-analysis published in the journal Nutrition Research reported that drinking tea can help lower a person’s chances of getting osteoporosis. The researchers, who were from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, reviewed existing observational studies to look at the association between tea consumption and the risk of osteoporosis.

• Earlier studies have evaluated the link between tea consumption and osteoporosis risk, but the results are inconsistent.
• For the current review, the researchers included 16 articles that examined a total of 138,523 individuals.
• Seven studies on bone mineral density showed that bone mineral density increased with tea consumption, while the remaining nine studies on fracture reported that tea consumption did not affect osteoporotic fracture.
• The results of the meta-analysis show that tea consumption could increase bone mineral density. However, its effect on osteoporotic fracture needs more investigation.

Based on these findings, the Chinese researchers concluded that drinking tea could help prevent osteoporosis by increasing bone mineral density.

To read more studies on how to prevent osteoporosis, visit Prevention.news.

Journal Reference:

Guo M, Qu H, Xu L, Shi D. TEA CONSUMPTION MAY DECREASE THE RISK OF OSTEOPOROSIS: AN UPDATED META-ANALYSIS OF OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES. Nutrition Research. June 2017; 42: 1-10. DOI: 10.1016/j.nutres.2017.02.010