Think Twice Before Drinking That Beer - More Harm Than Good?
For years I've heard the tales that one drink (of any type of alcohol) is good for your health. Some of the oldest living people on the planet have sworn to the fact that one drink per day helped increase their longevity, and these people seemed to possess full brain function. I've heard that a glass of wine a day is good for your heart; a shot of whiskey improves digestion and is good for the digestive tract; and, so on and so forth.
So, based on all these things I've heard or read somewhere, I have allowed my self the pleasure of enjoying a beer with my evening meal. Mind you, not daily imbibing, but admittedly the frequency is more often than not. I now must question these teachings and give serious thought to changing this enjoyable evening meal ritual.
A recent study by the University of Oxford has found there is no 'safe' level of drinking alcohol and that any increase in the consumption of alcohol is associated with decreased brain health. The study in question was of an observational type, and has not been peer reviewed as of yet. In the study, researchers studied the relationship between the alcohol intake (self reported) of approximately 25,000 people in the United Kingdom and their associated brain scans.
Findings of the research demonstrated that the consumption of alcohol had a physical effect on the brain's gray matter. The more alcohol people consumed their brain scan revealed a related decrease in the volume of gray matter present. Gray matter is important in brain functioning in that it is the area of the brain where important bits of information are processed.
Brain volume naturally decreases with age. This smaller volume also is responsible for poorer performance on testing of the memory. The Oxford study found that alcohol consumption was only a small contributor to this decrease (0.8%). However, alcohol consumption was a greater contributor to decreased gray matter volume than other 'modifiable risk factors'. Simply, a 'modifiable risk factor' is a factor that by your actions can be removed (i.e. smoking) in contrast to aging as a factor.
The research also examined whether drinking patterns, beverage type, or other present health conditions impacted the effects of alcohol on brain health. The results were clear that in fact there is no safe level of drinking on brain health meaning consumption of even the slightest amount of alcohol was more detrimental than not drinking it at all. They also found that the type of alcohol consumed, be it beer, wine, or spirits, demonstrated no difference in the harm caused to the brain. Binge-drinking, obesity, and high blood pressure to name a few, cause higher risks of decreased brain volume as a result of alcohol consumption.
The risks and results of alcohol consumption are basically common knowledge. In 2016, alcohol was deemed the leading risk factor in disease and premature death in both men and women between the ages of 15 through 49 on a worldwide basis. This accounted for nearly one in ten worldwide deaths for that year. [See "Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016" https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736 Accessed May 20, 2021].
For our brain health, we all need to be more cognizant of our diets and lifestyles. Guess I'll have to think twice at dinnertime tonight on whether to pop open that Heineken - - or not.