Caffeine's Role in Osteoporosis

Hi @loriesco

Very informative. Oddly enough, when I was pregnant I couldn’t drink a drop of coffee - the smell made me nauseous - should’ve read the proverbial tea leaves then 😉. My plan is to switch to tea very soon. I can’t honestly say I’ve had sufficient calcium or Vitamin D in past years.

Thanks for the read! Cheers!

You're braver than I re saying no to coffee. I'm now down to one cup in the morning with half decaf and half organic caff. ( Also, Barbara O'Neil swears by comfrey tea building bones.) I do put cream in it, but not to give me more calcium. I'm following Dr Susan Brown (brilliant woman!) and her osteoporosis regimen and taking the Alea Cal protocol which guarantees bone growth within six months. I refuse to take the meds the docs recommend to their chagrin. Took fosamax for some years and am not willing to pay the price my friends have in using it. But everyone must follow their own wisdom re the meds. I simply know too much at this point to allow them in my life.

You're braver than I re saying no to coffee. I'm now down to one cup in the morning with half decaf and half organic caff. ( Also, Barbara O'Neil swears by comfrey tea building bones.) I do put cream in it, but not to give me more calcium. I'm following Dr Susan Brown (brilliant woman!) and her osteoporosis regimen and taking the Alea Cal protocol which guarantees bone growth within six months. I refuse to take the meds the docs recommend to their chagrin. Took fosamax for some years and am not willing to pay the price my friends have in using it. But everyone must follow their own wisdom re the meds. I simply know too much at this point to allow them in my life.

IMPORTANT: I'd be VERY careful in consuming comfrey. Comfrey contains alkaloids that can cause liver damage and death. Even used topically, you need to be extremely careful and it should not be used on puncture, deep or infected wounds as it will speed external healing, potentially trapping pathogens and/or infections internally. Please be careful about what you incorporate into your diet from non-vetted sources on the internet.

Although caffeine can cause some minor calcium loss, I think the loss is easily offset unless of course you are consuming massive amounts of coffee throughout the day. One or two cups in the morning is likely fine and the health benefits of coffee are well documented so it's not something I would personally eliminate.

If you are looking to substitute tea for some of your coffee, one of the best options is nettles tea which is rich in minerals including calcium. It doesn't taste very good but you can combine it with peppermint, also quite mineral rich, which improves the taste. You can also include other herbs to make a nutritious blend by adding any of the following: sage, red clover, tulsi (holy basil), plantain, gotu kola. Rotation is always recommended. Periodically adding in a pinch of horsetail will provide silicon which is great for the bones but horsetail is not recommended for daily use as it can decrease thiamine absorption so only use occasionally if you decide to incorporate.

@madhub140, I’ve given up coffee in the past, only to start drinking it again and decaf, ooooh, can’t do that! I def need to look further into the benefits of tea. My younger sister has always had a thin frame and would be a perfect candidate for OP, but at 65, she has t-scores something like -1.0 in spine and -1.2 in hip and . . . she is a lifelong tea drinker. I don’t know if there’s any correlation, but, hit me over the head with research and evidence and I’ll take notice.

I understand your mistrust of OP meds. No one knows what problems these treatments might cause in 20 or 30 years. I like the idea of natural (AlgaeCal) remedies, but how do you monitor bone density increase when docs aren’t really interested in DEXA’s or other testing more than every two years. Hooray to you for being your own advocate!

My doc recommended the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation as a resource. Prior to taking meds, I tried to find this type of organization, but had no idea I should be looking for BHOF instead of something like National Association of OP. Anyway, lots of good info on the site. Gotta stop rambling now and go have a cup of tea!

Thanks for weighing in on this subject! Cheers!

IMPORTANT: I'd be VERY careful in consuming comfrey. Comfrey contains alkaloids that can cause liver damage and death. Even used topically, you need to be extremely careful and it should not be used on puncture, deep or infected wounds as it will speed external healing, potentially trapping pathogens and/or infections internally. Please be careful about what you incorporate into your diet from non-vetted sources on the internet.

Although caffeine can cause some minor calcium loss, I think the loss is easily offset unless of course you are consuming massive amounts of coffee throughout the day. One or two cups in the morning is likely fine and the health benefits of coffee are well documented so it's not something I would personally eliminate.

If you are looking to substitute tea for some of your coffee, one of the best options is nettles tea which is rich in minerals including calcium. It doesn't taste very good but you can combine it with peppermint, also quite mineral rich, which improves the taste. You can also include other herbs to make a nutritious blend by adding any of the following: sage, red clover, tulsi (holy basil), plantain, gotu kola. Rotation is always recommended. Periodically adding in a pinch of horsetail will provide silicon which is great for the bones but horsetail is not recommended for daily use as it can decrease thiamine absorption so only use occasionally if you decide to incorporate.