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| - While some peer-reviewed research has shown a link between drinking cola and lower bone mineral density, other studies have shown mixed results.
Alleged risks between drinking colas and bone health have long persisted (archived) on the internet, with many social media posts drawing connections (archived) between drinking the dark soda and experiencing a loss in bone density.
Some social media posts overinflate the health risks associated with— but not definitively linked to — drinking cola. One, for example, claims (archived) that a person will "lose 12 minutes" of their life every time they "drink a coke" while another calls the drink a "health hazard" (archived). Other posts use emotion-evoking (archived) language to bait clicks (archived).
The claim is true: Some peer-reviewed research has shown a link between drinking cola and lower bone mineral density, an indication of bone health that measures the minerals, namely calcium and phosphorus, in bone tissue. Other studies have shown mixed results, however.
The Coca-Cola Co. website says the tartness of the drink comes from phosphoric acid, as well as sugar and caffeine. Some studies suggest caffeine may promote osteoporosis, while one in 2017 noted the complex relationship between sugar intake and negative bone health.
Melissa Prest, spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, a trade organization, said via email that it is true there is a connection between drinking cola and bone loss, though the link is not absolute and the "caveat" is the amount consumed.
"Drinking one or two colas is not going to cause bone loss. Current research has not confirmed how much is too much and 12 to 24 ounces of cola should not cause bone loss or bone issues," Prest wrote.
Prest added that some populations may see more adverse effects, writing:
We consume foods with natural phosphorus like protein-rich legumes and animal proteins and foods with added phosphorus like colas and shelf-stable baked goods. We tend to absorb more phosphorus from foods with added phosphorus and less from foods naturally high in phosphorus.
For people with kidney disease, their bodies have a harder time getting rid of extra phosphorus from the diet which can lead to changes in the bone. For people with normal kidney function, their bodies can remove the extra phosphorus; though, some studies have shown there is a potential for changes in bone metabolism when eating excessive amounts of foods that have added phosphorus regardless of kidney function.
Based on typical consumption habits, drinking or eating foods with added phosphorus should not cause bone changes for most people.
A long-term study published in 2006 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that drinking cola was associated with a significantly lower bone mineral density at each hip site in women — but not men — who drank colas versus those who didn't. There was no association between other sodas and lower bone mineral density.
In 2000, Harvard researchers wrote that teenage girls who "drink soda pop have three times the risk of bone fractures compared with those who don't drink carbonated beverages."
Increased soda consumption of all types is associated with an increased risk of hip fracture in postmenopausal women, but a clear mechanism wasn't apparent based on observational data.
In 2020, researchers wrote in the journal Nutrients that "soft drink consumption is directly associated with the risk of fracture" and that reducing should be considered for maintaining bone health.
Dr. Robert Ashley, an internist at UCLA Health, synthesized some of these findings in a 2018 blog post, writing that the "evidence between soda intake and obesity is irrefutable," though the link between bone health and cola consumption is less clear. He wrote:
My advice is: Make plain water your primary source of fluid. Also, and this is important, minimize the amount of sodas that you and your teenager drink. In addition to their link to obesity, they do seem to increase the risk of low bone density and bone fractures.
Drinking soda has also been linked to other negative lifestyle factors that may in turn affect bone health, such as weight or activity level.
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