Uh Oh – Even ‘Moderate’ Consumption Of Alcohol Can Cause Memory Loss And Brain Damage

Well, this isn’t exactly the news that we wanted to hear after a heavy Bank Holiday weekend, but the latest scientific study has found that even moderate alcohol consumption can damage brain health.

UK research published in The BMJ journal shows that not only does heavy drinking damage the brain (over 30 units per week), even drinking 14-21 units appears to cause “cognitive decline”, including memory loss, and brain damage that affects spatial awareness and language skills.

550 healthy men and women took place in the study that was done over the space of 30 years, where each participant had regular brain function tests and an MRI brain scan.

Factors such as sex, age, education, social class, physical and social activity, smoking, stroke risk and medical history were all taken into account, but even still the study found connections between higher alcohol intake and damage to the brain functions.

Those who drank more than 14 units per week, which is currently the max recommended units per week for men and women, were three times more likely to be at risk than those who drank lower amounts of alcohol.

Considering one bottle of wine has 10 units, we’re ever so slightly worried…

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