Women can Prevent Osteoporosis with the Occasional Glass of Wine

Older women may improve their bone health and avoid osteoporosis with moderate alcohol drinking, medical experts say, quoting recently published findings. Researchers admit that, while the study doesn’t prove that alcohol has a direct effect on these women’s bone health, it does imply an association between the two. With recent studies advising against taking too much calcium due to risks of heart disease and osteoporosis medication often being expensive with complications leading to numerous class-action legal complaints, it has become important to identify lifestyle habits that are effective at preventing osteoporosis. 

Although the process is not fully understood experts found that moderate drinking can reduce bone turnover for older women and thus prevent osteoporosis. Moderate drinking is characterized as having 1.5 to 2 standard glasses of alcohol or 8-10 grams a day. A standard drink in the United States would be the equivalent of drinking 12 ounces of beer, a 5 ounce glass of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.

The study followed 40 post-menopausal women with an average age of 56, who drank moderately and were not on hormonal replacement therapy. The results showed these women had stronger bones. When the program asked them to stop taking alcohol for two weeks, the bone turnover rate in these women had increased and as soon as they resumed their habits the level of bone turnover had subsided.

Whether these results would work the same in men of the same demographic is yet to be determined. This promotion of alcohol consumption is not entirely embraced by the medical community as it is implied that younger women may experience a detrimental effect since their bones are still developing. Based on the study no one knows why women with these habits had stronger bones than either non-drinkers or heavy drinkers. It appears that the compelling factor in these instances is the amount of alcohol in itself.

So now, aside from preventing heart disease, physicians might be comfortable prescribing moderate drinking to older women as a means of avoiding osteoporosis. This might also mean that more people can avoid risking their health with osteoporosis medications like Fosamax or Evista.

If you or anyone you know might have suffered an injury related to taking Fosamax, look up the Fosamax class action lawsuit blog for more details.


URL reference:

  • health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/07/11/ladies-drink-to-your-bone-health