Can Caffeine Increase Your Risk Of Osteoporosis?
That cup or two of coffee in the morning tastes wonderful, right? Surely it can't be hurting you, especially your bones…
Or can it?
Osteoporosis is found in many women, mostly from a lack of calcium. When you lack calcium, your bones cannot replace themselves properly and your body will pull out calcium from your bones to use in your muscles, brain, and heart.
Women are much more susceptible to osteoporosis than men. And it's no surprise that women drink more coffee. But, they often do less exercise and strenuous activity to build thick, strong bones.
Of course, other lifestyle factors play into this, too. For example, people who are obese and sedentary tend to develop osteoporosis more often.
If you're looking to lower your risk, getting more exercise is definitely the first step. But, if you lower your caffeine intake, you can give yourself a big boost, as well.
Coffee vs Soda vs Tea
So, in this, caffeine is the culprit, leaching out calcium from your bones. For every 100 mg of caffeine you ingest, it uses 6 mg of calcium to metabolize.
That may not sound like a lot, but you have to realize one cup of coffee has about 60 milligrams of caffeine. And a typical cup of coffee is only 8 oz. Those large coffee house coffees that you get every day can be two, three, and even four servings of coffee.
Here are some other common caffeine-containing beverages and foods:
- Energy Drinks – 80 to 200mg or more
- Typical Coffee – 60mg
- Caffeine rich coffees – 120 to 150mg
- Decaffeinated Coffee – 10mg
- Sodas – 30 to 60mg
- Black Tea – 30 to 60mg
- Green Tea – 20 to 30mg
- White Tea – 5 to 10mg
- Herbal Teas – 0mg
- Chocolate (1oz) – 10mg
So, you can see that if you drank two cups of coffee, had a piece of chocolate, had two sodas, you could easily go over 250mg of caffeine, which is the top recommended amount.
If you're going to drink something with caffeine, we do recommend having your coffee and drinking it black. At least that way, you get some antioxidants.
Soda has no redeeming value. It's loaded with sugar, chemical flavorings and colors, caffeine, and nothing else. No healthy diet includes soda.
And then there's tea. Even though there is caffeine in tea, it does something strange.
Tea Helps Prevent Bone Loss
One strange thing about tea is that it can help build your bones back up. Many of the antioxidants in tea help your body in multiple ways. When it comes to caffeine, certain antioxidants can prevent the caffeine from being absorbed into your system or mitigate its effects in your body.
For example, it's been long known that caffeine-sensitive people can still drink green tea without experiencing the caffeine's effect. Even people who drink black tea can experience a lower caffeine effect than drinking the same amount of coffee.
White tea and herbal teas have much lower levels of caffeine, if they have caffeine at all.
So, if you're looking to wean yourself off of caffeine, tea is a great place to start.
Still Love Coffee? Here's How To Slow Bone Loss
Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to make sure you're getting enough calcium to support your bones. But, there are things you can do to help boost that.
Drink Tea
Green tea is exceptionally healthy, containing many antioxidants that help improve your health. Adding a few cups of green tea per day can provide these antioxidants that can help slow the aging process.
Supplement Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Zinc
Most women do not get enough calcium, magnesium, or vitamin D regularly. Supplementing these essential nutrients can help rebuild your bones and keep them strong.
Exercise
Doing regular exercise places stress on your bones and that stress increases the density and strength of the bone. Your body will utilize the available calcium and other co-nutrients such as the magnesium and vitamin D, to keep your bones strong.
Avoid Soy
Even though soy got promoted as one of the best foods for women to eat for a long time, we now know it was completely wrong. Soy contains anti-nutrients that bind calcium and goitrogens that depressed your thyroid. Consuming soy can literally pull calcium from your body. You'll need to check the ingredient list of any food you eat carefully as many companies add soy protein and soy isolate as a stabilizing agent.
Cut Back On Salt
Salt is rough on the body, raising your blood pressure and hurting your bones. Reducing the amount of salt you eat benefits your health. You can get the salt you need from eating a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
Skip The Soda
Like we said before, soda has no redeeming value. The caffeine robs your bones of calcium and the acids can ruin your teeth. There's just no reason to drink soda.
Get Enough Protein
Proteins are essential for building healthy bone tissue, especially the center of the bones that helps produce red and white blood cells. A good collagen supplement helps provide those proteins, especially if you're eating a diet focusing on fruits and vegetables.
Keeping your bones healthy means you'll stay strong and independent into older age. You can enjoy life better and be more confident in your health.