There May Be a Point Where Coffee Stops Being Good for You.

There May Be a Point Where Coffee Stops Being Good for You

I love coffee.

And over the years, coffee has gone from being something we were told was bad for us to something that practically gets marketed as a health food.

There’s a lot of research showing benefits associated with moderate coffee consumption.

But like a lot of things in nutrition, more isn’t automatically better.

A study getting a lot of attention this week looked at nearly 10,000 women aged 65 and older and followed them for about 10 years. Click HERE for the study.

Researchers were looking at something very specific, bone density.

And they found an interesting dividing line.

Drinking around two to three cups of coffee per day wasn’t associated with poorer bone health.

But once coffee consumption got above five cups per day, women tended to have lower bone mineral density at the hip and femoral neck.

Those are two areas where osteoporosis-related fractures can become a very serious problem as we get older.

Now before somebody throws their coffee maker out the window...

This does NOT mean coffee causes osteoporosis.

This was an observational study.

It shows an association.

It doesn’t prove that the coffee itself caused the bone loss.

But there are some good reasons why the finding makes sense.

Caffeine can slightly interfere with calcium absorption and calcium metabolism.

At two cups a day, that probably isn't a big deal for somebody eating a good diet.

At six, seven or eight cups every single day?

Now those small effects may start adding up.

Tea Did Something Different

Here’s the other part I found interesting.

Women who regularly drank tea actually had slightly HIGHER bone density at the hip than women who didn't drink tea.

The difference wasn't huge.

But it was statistically significant.

Researchers pointed toward compounds in tea called catechins, which may influence the balance between building new bone and breaking old bone down.

So we basically saw three different patterns..

Moderate coffee looked fine.

Very high coffee consumption was associated with lower bone density.

And tea appeared to have a small advantage.

The Alcohol Connection Matters Too

There was another detail in this study that probably won't make most of the headlines.

The negative association with coffee was stronger among women with higher lifetime alcohol consumption.

Think about what that means.

Health usually isn't about one food.

Or one supplement.

Or one bad habit.

It's the combination of them that adds up.

Five or six cups of coffee.

Not enough protein.

Not enough calcium.

Very little resistance exercise.

Regular alcohol.

Not enough vitamin D.

Then somebody reaches 65 and wonders why their bone density is falling.

It probably wasn't one thing.

It was 20 or 30 years of little things stacking up.

Bone Health Is More Than Calcium

This is another area where I think we oversimplified nutrition for years.

Want stronger bones?

Drink milk.

Take calcium.

Done.

Except that's not how bone works.

Bone is living tissue.

Your body is constantly breaking it down and rebuilding it.

You need adequate protein.

You need minerals.

You need vitamin D.

You need mechanical stress from walking, lifting weights, carrying things and actually using your body.

And yes, calcium matters.

But swallowing a calcium tablet while sitting on the couch all day isn't a bone-health program.

Muscle matters too.

The stronger you stay as you age, the more protection you have against falls, frailty and the cascade of problems that often follows a fracture.

My Bottom Line

I'm not giving up coffee.

And this study doesn't give me any reason to.

If you're drinking two or three cups per day, this research didn't find a meaningful problem with that amount.

But if you're drinking coffee from the moment you wake up until dinner?

Six cups.

Eight cups.

Maybe a pot every day?

That's different.

Especially if you're a postmenopausal woman already worried about bone loss.

I would worry less about finding some exotic bone supplement and start with the basics.

Get enough protein.

Eat mineral-rich whole foods.

Make sure your vitamin D status is good.

Lift something heavy a few times a week.

Walk.

Keep alcohol under control.

And maybe coffee doesn't need to be an all-day beverage.

Sometimes the dose really does make the difference.

And if you want something hot later in the day...

Tea might not be a bad trade.

I put 3 videos you may be interested in down below if you missed them.  Also, some great stuff from Primal Nutrition, including our new Vitamin D3/K2/ Calcium Supplement!

Stay healthy,
Victor
Primal Nutrition / Southern Keto

P.S.

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Let’s make this your healthiest chapter yet.