Cola linked to osteoporosis risk.

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Cola linked to brittle bones risk By Jane Kirby, PA Published: 06 October 2006 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article1814750.ece Drinking cola could lead to weaker bones, experts have said. A US study found that drinking just four cans of regular or diet cola a week led to lower bone density in women - a condition which increases the risk of osteoporosis. Experts from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Centre analysed questionnaires and bone mineral density measurements at the spine and three different hip sites of more than 2,500 people aged just under 60. They found

that drinking cola led to lower bone mineral density in women's hips, regardless of age, timing of menopause, total calcium and vitamin D intake, or cigarette use and alcohol intake. However, drinking cola was not associated with lower bone mineral density in men's hips or the spine for either men or women. Dr Katherine Tucker and colleagues reported their findings in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. She said: "The more cola that women drank, the lower their bone mineral density was. "However, we did not see an association with bone mineral density loss for women who drank carbonated beverages that were not cola." Men in the study drank an average of five colas a week. Previous studies have suggested that cola leads to bone mineral density loss because it replaces milk (a source of calcium

necessary for healthy bones) in the diet. But this study related to women whose intake of milk was the same as for women not drinking cola. Dr Tucker called for further studies to work out if regularly taking in phosphoric acid, found in cola, was to blame. She said there was no concrete evidence that an occasional cola harms the bones, but added: "Women concerned about osteoporosis may want to steer away from frequent consumption of cola until further studies are conducted." "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

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