It is known that alcohol is not good for our health. However, a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania reveals that its moderate consumption can reduce the size of our brain.
In the research, the results of which were published in Nature Communications, the data of 36,678 people, which were collected from the UK Biobank, were analyzed. The work found that light to moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a reduction in brain volume.
The experts were able to show that this relationship was more noticeable when the level of consumption was higher. In 50-year-olds, as the average alcohol intake increased from one unit (about half a beer) a day to two (the equivalent of a glass of wine), brain changes occurred that were equivalent to aging two years .
For his part, going from two to three units of alcohol at the same age was like aging three and a half years. “These findings are in contrast to scientific and government guidelines on safe alcohol consumption limits,” says Henry Kranzler, one of the study’s authors.
“For example, although the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommends that women consume an average of no more than one drink a day, the recommended limits for men are double that, an amount that exceeds the level associated with the brain volume shrinking study.
brain size
When the scientists grouped the study participants by average consumption levels, another pattern emerged that became apparent: the volume of gray and white matter was reduced. Thus, going from zero to one unit of alcohol did not mean a greater difference in brain volume, however, going from one to two or from two to three units per day was associated with reductions in both gray and white matter.
“It is not linear. It gets worse the more you drink”, conclude the authors of the research.
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