Moderate drinking may help against brittle bones

Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol may benefit women's bone health, lowering their risk of developing osteoporosis, researchers say. The study assessed the effects of alcohol withdrawal on bone turnover in postmenopausal women, who drank one or two drinks per day several times a week. Researchers at Oregon State University measured a significant increase in blood markers of bone turnover in women after they stopped drinking for just two weeks. Bones are in a constant state of remodelling with old bone being removed and replaced.      Researchers studied early postmenopausal women, who regularly had one or two drinks a day, were not on any hormone replacement therapies, and had no history of osteoporosis-related fractures. The researchers found evidence for increased bone turnover — a risk factor for osteoporotic fractures — during the two week period when the participants stopped drinking. Even more surprising — the researchers found that less than a day after the women resumed their normal drinking, their bone turnover rates returned to previous levels. Drinking a glass of wine may help postmenopausal women