EVEN A SMALL ONE? –
March 4, 2022 – The research, which was published today in the journal Nature Communications, analyzed data from 36,678 adults across the U.K.; it’s important to note that the partipants were healthy, but middle aged and older. So while the risk for your shrinking brain might be lower, this is an early reminder to get your rosé habit in check before you hit 50.
Researchers found that even light to moderate drinking was associated with lower brain volume. So the more alcohol people consumed, the more brain matter they appeared to lose. Consuming one unit of alcohol, which is about half a beer or glass of wine, didn’t appear to make a difference. But scientists saw a connection between people who drank two units of alcohol a day and a reduction in brain volume analogous to aging two years.
In case you’re not aware, it’s normal for your brain to shrink as you age but some experts assert that it may be associated with cognitive decline. Unfortunately, brain shrinkage is an inevitable pitfall of aging that we don’t want to speed up. But, according to this study, the brains of people who consume two units of alcohol every day could age more rapidly than people who don’t.
