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 American
researchers blame the caffeine in carbonated drinks for stripping calcium
from the body.
The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
showed that people who drink colas and other carbonated drinks tended
to excrete vital calcium through their urine.
They said this is becoming an increasing problem particularly for young
people who are tending to drink more and more fizzy drinks and less and
less milk, which is rich in calcium.
Calcium loss
In America carbonated drinks like colas are the drink of choice for women
aged 20-40 and they are becoming more popular in the UK with more than
one in eight teenagers drinking more than 22 cans of cola a week.
Dr Robert Heaney and Dr Karen Rafferty, of the Creighton University Osteoporosis
Research Centre in Omaha, Nebraska, studied the effect of various drinks
on a group of 30 women.
And they found that those who drank the caffeinated drinks had a "small
but significant increase in urinary calcium excretion".
But they said that no calcium loss was due to either phosphoric or citric
acid acidulation.
Dr Wendy Doyle, spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association, said
just drinking four cans of cola a day could increase a person's risk of
bone deterioration.
But she said the link with caffeine meant that people should be wary about
other drinks and food.
Caffeine warning
"If it is the caffeine then people who drink a lot of coffee, eat
a lot of dark chocolate and have other sources of caffeine also need to
be a little careful.
"The general advice is that these carbonated drinks can be high in
sugar and they are not good for your teeth, they are high in calories
and now they are linked with causing problems with the bones.
"If people like caffeine containing drinks they should take care."
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