According to recent research, there is no such thing as a “cautious” level of alcohol use, with higher consumption levels attributable to destitute brain function.
A group of researchers at the University of Oxford investigated the brain scans of 25,000 people who were big on alcohol. It concluded that alcohol affects the brain’s gray matter – your brain part dealing with information processing.
Senior clinical researcher, Anya Topiwala, mentions that the amount of gray matter depends on alcohol consumption.
The team investigated whether maintaining a minimal drinking routine would change the harm level of alcohol to the brain, but this was of no use. Results revealed there was no “safe” level of drinking.
Results further indicated that the “type of alcohol” used does not change the role of alcohol in harming the brain. Some health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes can equally increase the risk level
People cross their fingers expecting that they will go scot free with no harm if they drink’ moderately. But Topiwala assured that they would find the cure for preventing brain harm due to alcohol sooner or later.
According to a survey in 2016, due to drinking alcohol, many premature death cases and diseases were reported in men and women between the ages of 15-49 worldwide. From the study published in The Lancet in 2018, one in 10 deaths was due to alcohol.
The research leader at the UK’s Institute of Alcohol Studies, Sadie Boniface, stated that they aren’t sure about the safe level of drinking alcohol. Still, it is proven that heavy drinking is unhealthy for brain health, but it also affects all body parts and increases multiple health risks.
In 2018, more than 1 million people’s research revealed that excessive drinking is the primary reason for dementia, while another study indicated that excessive drinking increases the risk of heart disease and aneurysms.
No safe limits:
The team discovered that there was no such thing as a “safe” level of alcohol consumption, indicating that any amount of alcohol was worse than none at all.
“Even at levels of low-risk drinking,” Tony Rao, a visiting clinical fellow at King’s College London Psychiatry, told CNN, “there is evidence that alcohol consumption plays a prominent role in damage to the brain than previously thought. The (Oxford) study found that this role was prominent than many other modifiable risk factors like smoking.”
“The connection of high blood pressure and obesity in enhancing the harm done to the brain by alcohol highlights the larger relevance of nutrition and lifestyle in preserving brain health,” he added while talking to CNN.