BOSTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Cola may contribute to lower bone mineral density in older women, a condition that increases risk for osteoporosis, say Boston researchers.
Katherine Tucker of the Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and colleagues analyzed dietary questionnaires and bone mineral density measurements at the spine and three different hip sites of more than 2,500 people in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study.
In women, cola consumption was associated with lower bone mineral density at all three hip sites, regardless of factors such as age, menopausal status, total calcium and vitamin D intake, or use of cigarettes or alcohol, according to the study published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The results were similar for diet cola and, although weaker, for decaffeinated cola as well.
"The more cola that women drank, the lower their bone mineral density was," says Tucker. "However, we did not see an association with bone mineral density loss for women who drank carbonated beverages that were not cola."
