Women who drink at least one glass of milk each day throughout their adult lives can largely counter the bone-thinning effects of a lifetime of coffee drinking, according to a new study of 980 women past menopause.
The study, conducted by Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor and colleagues at the University of California at San Diego, showed that in women who do not drink milk, a lifetime habit of drinking as little as two cups a day of coffee containing caffeine results in a significant decline in bone density as they get older.
Such a decline, the hallmark of osteoporosis, which is epidemic among older women, can place them at risk of suffering debilitating and sometimes life-threatening fractures. Previous studies have linked coffee drinking to an increased risk of hip fractures.