Remember when moderate drinking was thought to be good for our health, heart and brain? Well, thanks to a recent study, the bubble burst.
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According to a new study published in the British Medical Journal, moderate drinking (equivalent to a glass of 5 ounces of wine a day, plus a little more alcohol last weekend) can cause increased drinking. Some related changes in the brain. These changes include three times the risk of right hippocampal atrophy (a brain damage that may affect spatial navigation and lead to Alzheimer's disease and dementia) in non-drinkers. The study followed 550 participants for more than 30 years since 1985 and found that alcoholics (those who drank two drinks or beer a night) had the greatest mental decline. This decline is particularly evident in their vocabulary fluency (being able to name as many words as possible with the same letter in a short time) and poor white matter integrity (which helps us to process ideas quickly).
The Guardian reported that Anya Topivala, a clinical lecturer in geriatric psychiatry at Oxford University and co-author of the study, said: "We know that long-term heavy drinking is harmful to brain health, but we don't know these levels."
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But what surprised researchers most was how much moderate drinking affected people.
Among those who did not drink at all, 35% had atrophy in the right part of the hippocampus, while 77% of heavy drinkers had similar atrophy. For moderate drinkers, the figure is 65%. This is not the first time that the habit of drinking a glass of wine a day has been studied. A study published last month concluded that drinking a glass of wine a day also increases women's risk of breast cancer. If anything, these studies may be a good warning to reassess our drinking habits, including whether we seriously underestimate the actual meaning of moderate drinking.
But even if more studies continue to confirm that moderate drinking can lead to cognitive decline, not all hopes are dashed. In fact, studies have shown that it is possible to restore brain function (and the resuscitation of new brain cells) within a year of abstinence. There are other benefits of abstinence, including reducing the risk of certain cancers, pancreatitis, digestive problems, stroke, depression and anxiety.
We will question this.
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