Your Brain and Alcohol 

by Sonya Collins, Updated August 5, 2022

You know you shouldn’t drink too much alcohol, but you’ve probably heard that one or two drinks a day (especially wine) is no big deal and could even have health benefits. Right? Well, it may not be that simple.

“There’s always been a story that moderate drinking, particularly red wine, might be good for you. But that’s become quite controversial, and many people dispute it now,” says Anya Topiwala, a senior clinical researcher in the department of psychiatry at the University of Oxford in England.

More recent evidence, including research Topiwala herself has conducted, suggests not only that moderate drinking may not be beneficial but that it could also, in fact, do harm — and that no amount of alcohol is good for your brain.

“I want people to know that it’s a myth that drinking is good for brain health,” Topiwala says.

The Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH), an independent collaborative of scientists, health professionals, scholars and policy experts convened by the AARP, reviewed the existing research and concluded that even small amounts of alcohol may hurt the brain. While the GCBH doesn’t make a specific recommendation about drinking, it does advise that no one should start drinking if they don’t already.

Could even a little alcohol do harm?

Continue Reading: https://stayingsharp.aarp.org/articles/alcohol-brain-health/

Article submitted to MSRN by Pat France, MSRN Member and a Senior!