An Australian research study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition has found that women who were regular tea drinkers had a 2.8 per cent higher hip bone-mineral density and lost less bone (1.6 per cent versus 4 per cent) than those who did not drink tea.
The women who participated in the study drank an average of three cups per day. Scientists cannot point to any one single reason why tea may have this beneficial effect, but there are several possibilities.
For one thing, tea contains potent antioxidants which may slow the activity of osteoclasts (the cells that break down bone). Tea also contains flavonoids, which are thought to boost the production of new bone-building cells, as well as phytoestrogens, which may have a bone-protective effect on women whose levels of oestrogen are low.
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