Studies show that even moderate drinking is harmful

It is well known that drinking too much alcohol can have serious health consequences, including liver damage. But is it too much? In conditions such as cirrhosis, it is usually 21 units of alcohol per week – Approximately 2 bottles of wine per week or 1.5 pints of beer per day. UK Chief Health Officer recommends that adults do not drink any more 14 units of alcohol A week to keep the risk of health problems low.

However, the liver may be the only organ. Drinking— — brain It can also be damaged. Overdrinking the current UK low-risk guidelines Increased risk of dementia.. And Recent researchWas announced in Science reportIt was found that even moderate drinking is associated with a decrease in brain volume.

Researchers in this latest study examined 300 people between the ages of 39 and 45 to understand the effects of drinking on the brain. Most people in the study reported drinking at levels considered moderate or low risk levels (on average less than 14 units of alcohol per week). Even at this level, there was a reduction in the amount of total brain tissue seen on brain scans. This is true for men and women when other risk factors such as smoking are taken into account. Their brain Reference model Average Brain volume..

Although this study does not examine the physiological effects of brain tissue loss, significant loss of brain tissue reduces the ability of the brain to function at optimal levels. The adult brain Shrinks slowly with ageThe sooner the loss begins, the more brain contraction can be accelerated by other medical conditions such as: High blood pressure and diabetes, It can occur in late middle age and later life. Some of the early signs of alcohol-induced brain injury Partially reversed after abstinence.. What was seen as early as 6 weeks after abstinence was More in the frontal lobe of the brainIt plays an important role in regulating behavior and our thinking.

These findings show that if you drink 7 to 14 units of alcohol a week, Small brain size.. This level of drinking was also associated with poor performance of skills, including remembering remembered words on demand.

Frontal lobe injury

When we study the effects of alcohol on the brain, we naturally focus on dementia. This inevitably means looking for memory changes. After all, the diagnosis of dementia amnesia.. But now the brain Frontal lobe In fact, it is damaged by alcohol earlier than the parts of the brain that are associated with memory. The frontal lobe controls our personality, behavior, and ability to think flexibly. These skills Not evaluated By tests commonly used to diagnose dementia.

However, drinking in a way that the general public believes to be wise and moderate may slowly damage our brains. Given this, we need to be better Early damage detection.. Fortunately, 8 item test Cognitive deficits can be detected early and are used routinely by mental health service professionals to detect alcohol-induced brain damage in the early stages of alcohol. Other tests Frontal lobe function can also be performed in hospitals or general practice.

Old drinker

The discovery that alcohol can damage the brain at amazing levels in ways that are not normally detected has a major impact on our society. For example, the baby boomer generation (currently people between the ages of 55 and 74) has the most rapid increase in alcohol harm compared to other generations and previous generations of the same age. It also has a higher risk of dementia than the younger age group.

To address this issue, both attitudes towards drinking and the way health care is provided need to be changed. Changes in drinking behavior in the elderly should be accompanied by picking up early signs of brain damage in everyone who drinks alcohol.

Progress has been made by asking older people about alcohol use in both public health And mental health policy. But this has not yet happened to detect brain damage in people who drink. alcohol.. Giving equal importance to both our brain and liver helps us maintain better health. As a society, we have the potential to care for both of these important organs.

You can reduce the risk of brain damage by drinking less or giving up altogether. But this is what we do Healthy eating and exercise..

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