Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol may have a protective effect on peoples bones, according to new research.
Scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University said people who consume one or two alcoholic drinks per day tend to have better bone mineral density (BMD).
However, those who drink more than this amount may suffer from bone loss, according to the findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The researchers found a particularly strong association in men who said they drank one or two servings of alcohol per day these subjects had significantly greater BMD in their hips than those who did not drink alcohol at all.
“We saw stronger association between higher BMD and beer drinkers, who were mostly men, and wine drinkers, who were mostly women, compared to liquor drinkers,” explained lead researcher Katherine L. Tucker.
The findings follow those from a team at Harokopio University of Athens in Greece, who discovered the Mediterranean diet could help protect against bone loss.
People who take nutritional supplements containing calcium and vitamin D may also help prevent a loss of BMD.