Overview
- An analysis of roughly 9,700–10,000 U.S. women aged 65 and older over about a decade found regular tea drinkers had slightly higher hip bone mineral density than non-drinkers.
- Very high coffee intake — more than five cups per day — was associated with lower hip bone density, while two to three cups showed no clear harm.
- Among women with higher lifetime alcohol use, any coffee consumption correlated with reduced femur bone density.
- The apparent benefit of tea was more noticeable in participants with obesity, consistent with proposed effects of tea catechins on bone formation.
- The authors highlighted limits including self-reported intake and a mostly White cohort and emphasized that the findings do not prove causation.