Drinking tea, especially green tea, has been found to be good for maintaining bone strength, and reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and Parkinsons disease. Scientists at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan, Taiwan, found that habitual tea drinking over several years preserves bone density in both men and women. The scientists propose that the high fluoride content in tea, is responsible for these health benefits. Green tea has especially high levels of fluoride. In addition to fluoride, other ingredients such as flavonoids and phytoestrogen may also help preserve bone density. Also ingredients in tea may inhibit bone resorption and boost metabolic creation of bone.
However the researchers believe it is not the amount of tea a person drinks that counts, but how long they have been a regular drinker. The effect was most pronounced in the bones of people who had drank tea regularly for more than a decade.
