Increased alcohol consumption is unhealthy – everyone knows that. However, it is often said that moderate drinking, such as a glass of wine in the evening, is harmless. Now a British study found that even small amounts of alcohol damage the brain.
A beer after work with colleagues or a glass of red wine with dinner – for many people, alcohol is an integral part of everyday life. Most people know that large amounts of it can be harmful to your health. Moderate amounts have so far been considered harmless. Now British scientists found out in a study that even the smallest amounts of alcohol can damage the brain.
Table of Contents
According to study: Even small amounts of alcohol damage the brain
Scientists from Oxford University examined within a study Data from more than 25,000 participants from the UK Biobank on their drinking behavior and its effects on the brain. The result of the researchers? There is no such thing as a safe amount of alcohol, as even moderate alcohol consumption has more serious side effects than previously thought. During the investigations, they found that even small amounts of alcohol ensure that the volume of the gray matter in the brain decreases. This controls intelligence and numerous functions of the central nervous system. In terms of brain damage, drinking wine, beer, or liquor made no difference. The study authors noted that people with high blood pressure, being overweight, and drinking heavily might still be at higher risk.
The study has only been published as a preprint so far, which means that it has not yet been reviewed by independent scientists.
Also interesting: This is what happens to your body if you abstain from alcohol for a month >>
Small amounts of alcohol can change the brain
An earlier Oxford University study from 2017 examined data from healthy 550 men and women regarding their alcohol consumption and its effects on the brain. The result: Those who drank more than 240 grams of alcohol a day had a higher risk that the number of nerve cells in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for long- and short-term memory, among other things, decreases.
