New study: Drinking tea in moderation may enhance bone health

Bone health has long been linked to calcium, vitamin D, strength training, and getting enough protein. But a new study indicates that there is a common drink that may also play a role in supporting bone health, which is tea.

Researchers have found that drinking tea is associated with better indicators of bone health in middle-aged and older adults, in results that add a new dimension to research on the effect of tea's plant components on the body.

Under the microscope

The study, conducted at the Guangzhou Nutrition and Health Study in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, is a long-term population-based study aimed at investigating factors associated with bone health and chronic disease. The study began in 2008, with follow-up examinations of participants over the years. Researchers followed data from more than 2,000 adults in China over a period of up to 13 years, with the aim of finding out whether tea consumption is associated with changes in bone health over time.

Participants underwent specialized examinations to measure bone mineral density, which are non-invasive examinations that can evaluate bone strength and composition.

The researchers measured mineral density in different areas of the body, including the entire body, the hip, the lumbar spine, and the neck of the femur.

The participants were also divided according to their rate of tea consumption into groups that ranged from not drinking tea to low, medium, and high consumption.

The remarkable results of drinking tea in moderation confirm its relationship with bones

The results showed that people who were average tea drinkers had, in general, more favorable indicators of bone density compared to the other groups.

The association was clear, especially in the lumbar spine and neck of the femur, where those with moderate consumption recorded better values ​​for some indicators of bone mineral density.

But researchers did find a simple relationship such as the more tea consumed, the stronger the bones became.

On the contrary, the moderate consumption group seemed to achieve the most positive results, without the study specifying an ideal amount of tea that could be specifically recommended for bone health.

Tea contains plant compounds known as flavan-3-lates, which are a type of polyphenols found naturally in tea. The researchers measured the levels of five of these compounds in the participants' blood, including: "epicatechin", "epigallocatechin gallate", "epicatechin gallate", "epicatechin", and "catechin".

They found that, in general, higher levels of these compounds were associated with more favorable indicators of bone health.

Antioxidants that may affect the bone building process

Researchers believe that some tea compounds may play a role through their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Previous research indicates that some polyphenols found in tea can affect processes related to oxidative stress and inflammation, in addition to the activity of two main types of cells responsible for bone regeneration, which are osteoblasts and osteoclasts. But these mechanisms are still being studied, and the results do not mean that tea alone can prevent bone loss or fragility.