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Research into alcohol consumption has shifted in recent years from the belief that light to moderate consumption has no, or very limited, risk, and can even be beneficial to health, to a more dramatic standpoint that no alcohol is good for you.
I also read this research with interest growing up in the UK binge drinking culture of days gone by (and to the present). Not only that I also became a wine connoisseur of sorts and of multiple other alcoholic beverages. However, I have become almost teetotal in recent years, and come to enjoy my life without alcohol — but still enjoy the good beer or other alcoholic beverage every now and then!
This recent study analysed data from 36’000 adults and found a link between drinking and reduced brain volume and that this starts with an average consumption of less than 1 alcohol unit a day. Equivalent to half a pint of normal beer a day. Gulp!
This was compared to the average impact of aging, and these are figures to note:
- going from zero to 1 unit of alcohol a day ages your brain by half a year
- but going from zero to four units a day ages your brain ten years!
So, the affects seem to be exponential, meaning that just cutting down will likely have big benefits particularly if you…
