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You might want to add an extra glass of wine to your daily diet. A new study has claimed that drinking a moderate amount of alcohol as part of a healthy lifestyle may benefit women's bone health, lowering their risk of developing osteoporosis.

The study was published online July 11 in the journal Menopause and  researchers focused on 40 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.

Study Author Urszula Iwaniec alcohol could help the health.

"Drinking moderately as part of a healthy lifestyle that includes a good diet and exercise may be beneficial for bone health, especially in postmenopausal women," Iwaniec said. "After less than 24 hours to see such a measurable effect was really unexpected."

The women in the study drank one or two drinks per day several times a week and then researchers evaluated the effects of alcohol withdrawal on bone turnover. The same evaluation was done after the women stopped drinking for two weeks and researchers found "a significant increase in blood markers of bone turnover."

Osteoporosis is the most common type of bone disease. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, about 1 out of 5 American women over the age of 50 have osteoporosis. About half of all women over the age of 50 will have a fracture of the hip, wrist, or bones of the spine. About 80 percent of all people with osteoporosis are women, and postmenopausal women face an even greater risk because estrogen, a hormone that helps keep bone remodeling in balance, decreases after menopause. Bones are in a constant state of remodeling with old bone being removed and replaced. In people with osteoporosis, more bone is lost than reformed resulting in porous, weak bones.

Oregon State University's Skeletal Biology Laboratory Director Russell Turner said this new study can help people make new choices.

"Everyone loses bone as they age, but not everyone develops osteoporosis," Turner said. "Being able to identify factors, such as moderate alcohol intake, that influence bone health will help people make informed lifestyle choices."

The researchers said many of the medications to help prevent bone loss are not only expensive, but can have unwanted side effects. While excessive drinking has a negative impact on health, drinking a glass of wine or beer regularly as part of a healthy lifestyle may be helpful for postmenopausal women.