A Xun, a special correspondent of Sina, reported on the west coast of the United States on June 25: In midsummer, the sun is like fire and sweating like rain. Who doesn't want to hold a bottle of carbonated drinks that are "crystal clear and cool" like coke? However, the latest findings of American researchers show that frequent consumption of carbonated drinks, especially cola, may lead to fractures in women and osteoporosis in old age.

Harvard University School of Public Health is located in Boston. Grace Vayssac, an associate professor of physiological statistics in this hospital, recently investigated the relationship between drinking habits and fractures of 460 local teenage girls, and published the research results in the journal Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine in June.

She found that girls who often drink carbonated drinks are three times more likely to have fractures than girls of the same age, while girls who often drink cola are five times more likely to have fractures than girls of the same age. In the survey, only 5 girls out of 57 girls who don't drink cola broke their bones, while 38 girls out of 107 girls who drink cola often broke their bones. Visak can't explain why carbonated drinks are so closely related to fractures, but she suspects that phosphoric acid in drinks is playing tricks, because phosphoric acid will affect bone deposition and have side effects on children's bone growth. Another explanation is that girls don't eat a lot of high-calcium foods such as milk when they drink drinks during meals. Over time, they lack the calcium needed for bone development. Vissac pointed out: "This is a serious problem, ... a serious public health problem." This problem may affect women's health for a long time, especially osteoporosis and other diseases that women often suffer after menopause. She believes that girls should reduce the consumption of carbonated drinks and insist on drinking water instead.

In the editor's note of this paper, Dr. Albert Golden of Albert Einstein College of Medicine wrote: "Osteoporosis should no longer be regarded as a disease of the elderly, but as a pediatric disease in old age."

After this article was published, the American Soft Drinks Association immediately responded by issuing a statement on soft drinks and fractures. It said that the research results of Wesak's paper are not correct, which is far from the research results of major academic research institutions such as the National Health Service and the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Richard Admanson, vice president of science and technology affairs of the association, said: "Studies by the National Institutes of Health show that phosphoric acid has little effect on calcium content and calcium loss. In fact, soft drinks only provide about 2% phosphorus in food, which is far lower than that provided by milk and only the same as daily foods such as orange juice, meat, grains and fruits. " The American Soft Drink Association believes that the author of the paper should re-study it in order to find out the real cause of the girl's fracture.

Although the influence of carbonated drinks such as cola on girls is still controversial, it has become common sense that girls also need calcium supplementation. Medical experts warn that many girls drink less milk and exercise too much in order to keep fit, but they reduce the nutrients needed by their bones, which leads to their fragile bones. Lack of calcium and estrogen in bones can lead to frequent fractures, but many women don't understand that these conditions will deteriorate into osteoporosis in the long run. According to statistics, among girls aged 65,438+02 to 65,438+09 in the United States, only 65,438+03% can get enough calcium, and each girl gets an average of 400 mg of calcium every day, which is less than one third of the required amount. Max, a professor of medicine at Stanford University, said that the calcium intake of young women has been declining for the past 40 years. Doctors suggest that taking enough calcium is the most effective way to prevent osteoporosis. Girls should consume at least 1200mg of calcium every day, which is about 4 cups of milk or orange juice.