Tea drinkers, put the kettle on. A long-term study has found a small, but interesting, connection between tea and bone health in older women.

Researchers followed women over roughly a decade and found that tea drinkers had slightly higher bone mineral density at the hip than women who didn't drink tea. And, if you're firmly on Team Coffee, there's no need to abandon your morning cup. Coffee wasn't associated with lower bone density, overall.

Researchers Followed Thousands of Older Women

The study, published in Nutrients, used data from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. The original study included 9,704 women aged 65 and older. 

Researchers repeatedly collected information about coffee and tea habits and measured bone mineral density over the years. They looked specifically at two areas:

• The femoral neck, which is near the top of the thigh bone

• The total hip

That's important because bone mineral density helps researchers assess bone strength and fracture risk. And as we get older, keeping those bones strong becomes increasingly important. As stated by the study's co-author, Enwu Liu, "Even small improvements in bone density can translate into fewer fractures across large groups."

Tea Came With a Small Advantage

Here's the interesting part for tea drinkers. Tea consumption was associated with slightly higher total hip bone mineral density. And we do mean slightly.

The researchers accounted for several factors that could also affect bone health, including:

• Age

• Body mass index

• Smoking

• Physical activity

• Calcium and protein intake

• Medications

• Coffee or tea consumption

Even after those adjustments, tea drinkers had slightly higher total hip bone mineral density than non-tea drinkers, with a difference of 0.003 grams per square centimeter.

That's not the kind of number that calls for replacing the kitchen faucet with Earl Grey. But, it was statistically significant, and it gives researchers another reason to keep investigating how everyday dietary habits may relate to bone health.

Coffee Was Mostly Neutral

Coffee has occasionally acquired a rather suspicious reputation when bone health enters the conversation. This study was more reassuring.

Overall, coffee consumption wasn't significantly associated with bone mineral density at either the femoral neck or total hip during the primary analysis.

The researchers did spot a possible wrinkle at the very high end, though. Their analysis suggested that drinking more than five cups of coffee per day might be associated with lower bone mineral density. Two or three cups per day, however, didn't show the same pattern.

So, this isn't a study telling us that our morning coffee is quietly plotting against our skeletal system. Five-plus cups a day is quite a different coffee habit from one mug with breakfast.

Tea Didn't Work the Same Way for Everyone

The researchers also found a few differences among groups of women. Tea consumption was associated with higher femoral neck bone mineral density among women with obesity.

Coffee, meanwhile, had a more complicated relationship with alcohol consumption. In women with higher lifetime alcohol intake, coffee was associated with lower femoral neck bone mineral density.

Those findings don't mean tea or coffee caused the differences. But, they do suggest that the relationship between what we drink and our bones may depend on the rest of our health and lifestyle. Our morning beverage, unsurprisingly, doesn't exist in a nutritional vacuum.

This Study Can't Tell Us Tea Strengthens Our Bones

Here's where we keep the teapot on the ground. This was an observational study. Researchers tracked beverage habits and bone mineral density, but they didn't randomly assign thousands of women to become tea drinkers or coffee drinkers.

That means the study can show associations, not prove that drinking tea caused anyone to have stronger bones. There were other limitations, too. The participants were primarily white women aged 65 and older, so the findings shouldn't automatically be applied to:

• Younger women

• Men

• People from other racial and ethnic groups

Coffee and tea intake was also self-reported. And that small difference in hip bone mineral density among tea drinkers may be statistically interesting without necessarily making a major difference to a woman's health.

There's Room for Both Mugs

For most coffee and tea drinkers, this research doesn't call for a dramatic beverage overhaul. Moderate coffee consumption wasn't associated with lower bone mineral density, overall, while tea came with a small positive association at the hip.

The researchers say more work is needed to understand what's behind those patterns and whether they translate into meaningful differences in bone health.

For now, tea drinkers can enjoy their cup without turning it into medicine. And coffee drinkers can keep the coffee maker on the counter. Unless you’re routinely pouring cup number six. Then maybe let the kettle have a turn.

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