Why drinking tea is good for you

Scientists have come up with yet more evidence of why tea is good for your health -- it helps to keep your bones strong.

"Tea intake has beneficial effects on bone structure by reducing bone loss," according to lead researcher Amanda Devine of University of Western Australia in Perth.

In fact, Devine and her team of researchers in Australia came to the conclusion after surveying 275 women aged between 70 and 85. Bone density measurements of the hip were taken at the beginning and end of the five-year study.

According to the results, women who were regular tea drinkers had higher bone density in two sides in the hip compared with non-tea drinkers. Even the bone mineral density in tea drinkers was higher than in non-tea drinkers.

However, the researchers failed to find a relationship between the number of cups of tea consumed per day and bone mineral density.

"Other variables, such as dietary calcium and coffee intake, physical activity, and smoking did not appear to be important confounders of the relation between tea and (bone density)," Devine wrote in the latest edition of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

According to the team, more research is needed to determine how drinking tea affects bone density.     

It may be mentioned that previous studies have suggested that phytochemicals in tea, such as flavonoids, may be responsible for the protective effect against bone loss due to their estrogen-like properties.

So, drink your tea English-style.