Moderate alcohol intake can strengthen bones as we age

There seems to be a direct correlation between moderate drinking and bone density in older men and women.

That’s the consensus of researchers conducting an epidemiological study of men and post-menopausal women primarily over 60 years of age who were found to have greater bone mineral density if they practiced regular moderate alcohol intake.

Researchers at the Jean Mayer United States Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston found associations were strongest for beer and wine and, importantly, bone mineral density (BMD) was significantly lower in men drinking more than two servings of liquor per day.

The results suggest that regular moderate consumption of beer or wine may have protective effects on bone, but that heavy drinking may contribute to bone loss.
 
“Previous research suggests that moderate alcohol consumption in older men and post-menopausal women may protect against BMD loss, a major risk factor for osteoporosis,” said Katherine Tucker, PhD, corresponding author and director of the Dietary Assessment and Epidemiology Research Program at the USDA HNRCA.

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines issued by the federal Government define moderate alcohol consumption as one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
 
“Our study also looks at the possible effects of the three alcohol classes, beer, wine and liquor on BMD,” Tucker continued.

“We saw stronger associations between higher BMD and beer drinkers, who were mostly men, and wine drinkers, who were mostly women, compared to liquor drinkers.”

The results were published online by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.