Cola and Osteoporosis: A Dangerous Link

This comes as no shock to me; my dad started warning me about phosphoric acid in sodas when I was 4 or 5 for that exact reason. I never thought it was any secret.

I was told about this link years ago in a talk on health but was told it was the carbonation that hurt calcium absorption

I hope that the weight training helps stop osteoporosis for me (and the calcium intake too), but I have to admit: I've known this, but I'm still addicted to diet colas.
I suppose if I ever get a bone density test and it shows osteopenia (pre-osteoporosis) I'd stop, but until then, I will remain an ashamed addict.

Ontop of that you can add Aspartame/NutraSweet (if you are weight conscious)and lots of highly refined sugar - so you can get Fat, destroy your brain cells and have brittle bones all in one convenient can - but don't worry they'll have lots of pills for that too.

I've always kind of known that soda isn't great for your bones...the phosphoric acid reacts with the calcium so you don't get enough. I take a calcium supplement AND I do strength training. I hope it's enough to ward off osteoporosis. I don't drink diet colas, but I do drink other diet sodas that probably have phosphoric acid in them. I've cut down considerably, but I still have one about every day.

I don't think this study will hold up. For one thing, acid allows better absorption of calcium. They add calcium to some orange juice for this reason. I think a larger study will show just the opposite is true.

This line of inquiry dates from a 1989 study of female student athletes. The bulk of followup studies, of which there have been many, have shown no connection. This particular study is an outlier. It probably deserves to be studied more, but the tendancy of the evidence seems to be pointing toward its being a myth. The very fact that it is proving to be hard to establish shows that whatever effects there may be are not significant.

Would this mean that diet coke has the same link?

I have a hard time believing Soda does anything beneficial for you AT ALL. It's probably a good habit to just stop intake all together. These studies that show detrimental side affects are only going to increase.

I used to drink 3-4 diet sodas a day. Before the summer, I decided to stop all together. I can't tell you how much better I feel - and how much less stomach discomfort I get now.

On the other hand the Mediterranean diet may be of great help, as the latest research shows it reduces the risk of Alzheimer. Reference: http://www.emaxhealth.com/91/7805.html

It's possible too, that other aspects of people's lives affected the outcome as well. Many people who drink diet colas probably don't work out a lot, which would be another variable in the experiment. You also have to take into account ethnicity (Asians are more prone to osteoporosis than whites and both are more prone to it than blacks), bone structure, calcium intake from various sources, etc. When doing studies like this, you have to be sure it's indeed causation and not correlation.

And if any of those diet coke drinkers have mobility issues (from being overweight) or food issues (eating disorders), they are more prone to osteoporosis anyway.

You'd need to get perfectly healthy people who drink soda vs. perfectly healthy people who don't drink soda to really know.

Is it true that the relationship between cola consumption and women's bone loss were unaffected by age, menopausal status, cigarettes, alcohol, or total calcium and vitamin D intake?

In 1983, when I was expecting my first-born, I read about the phosphor/calcium connection. It was clear by basic chemistry that this was not a good combination. I now have two 6'5" sons that I am happy to say have made it this far with no broken bones. I, myself, was raised in a household where sodas were only an occasional "treat". Now, in my early forties, I have never had more than a running-induced stress fracture in my foot.

'Might be interesting to see how many "Tab/Diet Rite/etc." drinkers from the '70s now have osteo-issues. How many of the children that had juice instead of milk in their bottles will have the same issues? I watch people continually "nursing" bottles/mugs of ANYTHING; as if they are still dragging around a baby-bottle.

I wonder how much all of these, as well as all of the coffee/lattes are causing the same acid/calcium reaction?

THIS IS SCARY!!!!!!!!!!!im mad !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!! I LOVE COKE!!!!! I DRINK 10 CANS EVERYDAY!! AND NOW I CANTT!!

D-Wright, I'm not sure it's correct that they add calcium to orange juice because it helps with absorption. It helps with iron absorption, but not calcium. Magnesium helps with calcium absorption, but acid would only add to the problem because it would have to be neutralized by a base. I think they say the same thing for protein breaking down in to amino acids which takes calcium to neutralize.

I too have heard about phosphorus for what seems like decades!

Any woman drinking diet colas and eating sugar products is susceptible to bone loss and needs to get a bone density test as soon as possible if over 50 to stop further loss, especially if they are undergoing menopause. That is the critical period, I understand, when the greatest bone loss occurs in women. Please pay attention. Check for phosphoric acid in anything you drink and for sugars and aspartames.

Eat fruits which contain natural sugars, but even here be careful to not overdo the sugar content. because overdoing it can cause bone loss.

People are not informed of these dangers to bone density and then are forced to take medication to try to regain lost bone, which can never be regained to the level that it once was. You must take charge of your health, otherwise you are liable to break a hip if you fall and your life will also be limited in many other ways. It is best to take the recommended dosage of calcium and stay away from sugars and diet colas.

I had early menopause due to a hysterectomy at 46 and am now diagnosed with osteopenia in hips/wrist and osteoporosis in the spine! Taking Boniva or similar medications seem to be just tooooo much in one dose and after much web research---I will try alternative methods like quitting my diet cola passion. Phosphoric acid will now be a no-no and I will also be looking at labels for aspartame and such.

Are any celeb-types getting this diagnosis? You never hear much about this except if you are looking for information. This should be broadcasted loud and clear!!!!

Kay Hanlon said:
osteopenia in hips/wrist and osteoporosis in the spine[...]

Kay, this is the link...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214270,00.html?sPage=fnc.health/aging

If you add an acidic product into your body, your body has to buffer it. It uses (mainly) calcium and magnesium as they are alkaline minerals (also sodium and potassium). If your diet is limited in these minerals then the only place your body can go is to your bones, where calcium and magnesium are stored. Other things that your body views as acidic are: processed foods, alcohol, stress, high levels of exercise, acidic foods, sugars etc etc. If you lead a lifetime of consuming acid foods, alcohol and stress then it isn't surprising that eventually your bones run out of calcium and magnesium and you get brittle bones. See this web site and sign up for their free lessons : www.ionlife.info. By the way, calcium from dairy is barely available to human bodies. It was designed for cows, not humans and our digestive enzymes cannot break it down to be digested. It just travels through the body and into the toilet. But would the Dairy industry tell us this? Nope. There is a massive industry built around this myth. Just because there is a lot of calcium in a glass of milk, doesn't mean it can be absorbed by a human body. The best sources of calcium come from ground up oyster shells from the ocean. Neways has a brilliant calcium supplement called Cal-Sea_Um.