Do carbonated beverages weaken bones?

By Robert H. Shmerling, M.D.

Q: Do carbonated drinks leach calcium from bones? Does this increase the risk for osteoporosis? Can drinking soda make a diagnosed case of osteoporosis worse?

A: The best answer I can give to your

BEACON BITS questions is “maybe.”

Sept.

A number of studies have linked carbonated drinks with osteoporosis. Data from the Framingham Osteoporosis Study looked at carbonated drink consumption among more than 1,400 women and 1,100 men. They found that

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women who drank the most caffeinated cola had the lowest bone density. The biggest effect was seen for those drinking three or more caffeinated cola drinks per day.

The effect was weaker for non-cola and non-caffeinated carbonated drinks. And they saw no link between any of these drinks and bone health in men.

More recent studies have come to similar conclusions. One study found a higher rate of bone fractures among teenagers who drank carbonated drinks compared with those who did not. Another found that among postmenopausal women, drinking more than two soft drinks each day was linked to an increased risk of hip fracture.

But no one knows if there is a true cause-and-effect relationship between carbonated drinks and weak bones.