Longtime tea-drinking may strengthen bones, researchers in Taiwan have found. The benefits occurred in people who drank an average of nearly two cups daily of black, green or oolong tea for at least six years,  said the researchers from Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan, Taiwan.  

       The findings could have broad public health implications, because fractures ! associated with bone-thinning osteoporosis and low bone density are a  global problem expected to worsen with the predicted increase in the number of older people worldwide. Tea contains fluoride and chemical compounds known as flavonoids that  include estrogen-like plant derivatives-- both of which may enhance bone strength.  

Their study is based on surveys of 1,037 men and women aged 30 and older who were questioned about tea-drinking habits and had bone-mineral density tests. The researchers accounted for other