NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who want to keep their bones strong may want to keep their cola consumption to a minimum, a new study suggests.

In a study of more than 2,500 adults, Dr. Katherine L. Tucker of Tufts University in Boston and colleagues found that women who consumed cola daily had lower bone mineral density (BMD) in their hips than those who drank less than one serving of cola a month.

"Because BMD is strongly linked with fracture risk, and because cola is a popular beverage, this is of considerable public health importance," the authors write in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Studies in teen girls have tied heavy soft drink consumption to fractures and lower BMD, the researchers note, but it is not clear if this is because they're drinking less milk, or if it is due to any harmful effects of soda itself.

To investigate this question in adults, the researchers measured BMD in the spine and at three points on the hips in 1,413 women and 1,125 men participating in a study of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis.

While there was no association between soft drinks in general and BMD, the researchers found that women who drank the most cola had significantly less dense bones in their hips. The greater their intake, the thinner the bones, and the relationship was seen for diet, regular, and non-caffeinated colas.

Cola consumption had no effect on BMD in men.

Women who drank more cola did not drink less milk, but they did consume less calcium and had lower intakes of phosphorus in relation to calcium. Cola contains phosphoric acid, the researchers note, which impairs calcium absorption and increases excretion of the mineral. Caffeine has also been linked to osteoporosis, they add.

"No evidence exists that occasional use of carbonated beverages, including cola, is detrimental to bone," they note. "However, unless additional evidence rules out an effect, women who are concerned about osteoporosis may want to avoid the regular use of cola beverages."

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, October 2006.

There's more!!!

from

http://www.totalhealthdynamics.com/soft_drinks.htm

FOR STARTERS: Dark colored soft drinks such as Coke, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi and ALL COLA DRINKS CONTAIN PHOSPHORIC ACID.

Drinking down a tall, cool glass of phosphoric acid laced with sugar is just a little less bad for you than gulping down a bottle of toilet bowl cleaner!

I'm sure it's no surprise to learn that Drinking Acid Is Hazardous To Your Health; and that's true whether you gulp down the phosphoric acid contained in cola drinks or copious quantities of the citric acid contained in clear soft drinks like Sprite, 7-up, or Ginger Ale.

The Phosphoric acid in cola drinks is so strong that it reacts with the aluminum inside soft drink cans, dissolving microscopic bits of the toxic metal, causing it to mix right in with the soda.

If you're up on the latest Alzheimer's research, you know that aluminum is linked with the development of Alzheimer's. There's no proof that aluminum causes Alzheimer's but it's a fact that every Alzheimer's victim has an unusually high concentration of Aluminum in their brain tissue. (Do you really want to risk it?)

Besides the phosphate you are exposed to in cola drinks, many other products are loaded with phosphates, including baked goods, cereals, cheeses and evaporated milk.

In high enough concentration, phosphates, block calcium absorption and flushes calcium out of your bones, which makes them thin, weak and brittle.

Phosphoric acid, which is one of the main ingredients in Coke, Dr.Pepper, Pepsi and all cola drinks, has a pH of 2.8, which is strong enough to dissolve a nail in about 4 days.

Have you ever used Coke Cola to clean corrosion off a car battery? It works great! Just pour some Coke over the corroded battery terminal and the corrosion melts off like magic. This is the same stuff people drink.  Can you believe it! 

The only reason the acid doesn't dissolve your teeth, gums and esophagus is because your body makes a powerful base that neutralizes the acid almost the second it hits your mouth.

If not for this miraculous feat of human biochemistry, the phosphoric acid would dissolve your teeth with the same potent efficiency as it dissolves battery corrosion.

All it takes to neutralize a strong acid is a strong base. And as it turns out, the mineral calcium is perfect for the job.

Calcium is the primary raw material your body uses to make the base that neutralizes the acid and keeps your teeth from melting right out of your mouth. Thankfully, you have plenty of calcium to draw on, your bones are full of it.

Unfortunately, when calcium is sucked out of your bones to neutralize soft drink acid, your bones get thinner, weaker and brittle; doctors call this osteoporosis.

Based on the acid content alone, soft drinks should carry warning labels that read: WARNING: If you drink this sludge long enough your bones will rot.

The biochemistry involved here is simple and straight forward. Published medical studies document how efficiently the phosphoric acid in soft drinks
deteriorates bone density.

One study of particular interest, was focused entirely on discovering why a group of healthy teenage girl athletes was experiencing an unusually high rate of bone fractures while playing their team sports.

The study, examined every imaginable factor that could account for the high bone fracture rate. Finally a common link was discovered; every member of the team consumed several soft drinks daily, including before and after practice.

Once this common factor was discovered, the mystery was solved. The researchers determined that calcium was being drawn out of these healthy teenagers bones to neutralize the soft drink acid resulting in weaker bones and the abnormally high fracture rate.

Imagine that!  Just a few sodas a day was all it took to weaken the bones of healthy teenage athletes.

But don't be too hasty in your judgment on soft drinks.  All this negative press does not suggest that soft drinks are completely, utterly, absolutely and totally worthless.

The truth is, cola soft drinks have many excellent uses.

In some states the highway patrol carries a couple gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident. The acid eats it right off the road!

I've already mentioned that cola drinks are great for cleaning corrosion off car battery terminals: Try it!  Just pour a little Coke over the terminals and watch
the corrosion melt away.  

Cola drinks are great for loosening rusted bolts.  Soak a cloth in your favorite cola and let it sit on the rusted bolt several minutes and wah lah, the bolt comes right out. This works almost as well as WD 40, which is an excellent product made for loosening rusted bolts.

Cola drinks are also great for cleaning road haze off your windshield; for this reason alone it's good to carry some of the stuff in the trunk of your car!

From a health standpoint, the acid content in soft drinks is not the only thing to be concerned over, it is just one of many.  

ALL SOFT DRINKS CONTAIN SUGAR and/or HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN
SYRUP - OR - they contain ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

As we examine these ingredients, keep something very important in mind.

When it comes to your health, you are always going one direction or another.