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Moderate Drinking Can Damage the Brain, Claim Researchers (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Drinking even moderate amounts of alcohol can damage the brain and impair cognitive function over time, researchers have claimed. Writing in the British Medical Journal, researchers from the University of Oxford and University College London, describe how they followed the alcohol intake and cognitive performance of 550 men and women over 30 years from 1985. At the end of the study the team took MRI scans of the participants' brains. None of the participants were deemed to have an alcohol dependence, but levels of drinking varied. After excluding 23 participants due to gaps in data or other issues, the team looked at participants' alcohol intake as well as their performance on various cognitive tasks, as measured at six points over the 30 year period. The team also looked at the structure of the participants' brains, as shown by the MRI scan, including the structure of the white matter and the state of the hippocampus -- a seahorse-shaped area of the brain associated with memory. After taking into account a host of other factors including age, sex, social activity and education, the team found that those who reported higher levels of drinking were more often found to have a shrunken hippocampus, with the effect greater for the right side of the brain. While 35% of those who didn't drink were found to have shrinkage on the right side of the hippocampus, the figure was 65% for those who drank on average between 14 and 21 units a week, and 77% for those who drank 30 or more units a week.
While 35% of those who didn't drink were found to have shrinkage on the right side of the hippocampus, the figure was 65% for those who drank on average between 14 and 21 units a week, and 77% for those who drank 30 or more units a week.
Per the article 14 units = approximately 6 pints of beer. Is that really moderate drinking? That's basically having a drink or more a day. Not alcoholic territory or anything but that's pretty steady consumption. Moderate drinking to my mind would be maybe a pint or two a week at most. Not having a drink with dinner every night. I'm not being critical. If someone enjoys a beer or glass of wine with dinner that's fine as long as they do so responsibly but it isn't what I consider moderate consumption.
Anyway, alcohol isn't good for you. News at 11... I'm pretty sure that anyone drinking a pint a day isn't overly concerned about the health effects, good or bad.
are you sure it is not age related? between 20 & 50 is a long time. I know I cant do now what i could do when i was 20
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
*Pops open another cold one, leans back, doesn't give a shit*
Eat the rich.
So consumption of alcohol is simply stupid?
Could it be that a lot of people enjoy alcohol because it tastes good, and that we happen to enjoy a light buzz, without feeling the urge to get totally plastered?
Eat the rich.
So these people did not have a "moderate" alcohol intake, they had a high alcohol intake.
Eat the rich.
That's all consistent with being stupid, so the two explanations are not mutually exclusive.
Fuck yeah. And get rid of refined sugar, candies, and deep fried foods. Those, too, are poisons that are consumed by stupid people to make themselves feel better while destroying their bodies.
This is self reported levels of drinking. While I tend to believe people who self-report "never drinking" I tend to doubt that the 14-21 units of alcohol per week crowd are 100% truthful about "never binging" - occasional weeks might include 21 units of alcohol in a 6 hour period.
Plus, I know it's England, but since when is 3 drinks a day, every day of the week, moderate?
Red meat is a poison too, but I always see you stuffing a burger in your face.
Red meat is a poison too, but I always see you stuffing a burger in your face.
The risk of consuming certain foods is often reduced or eliminated by simply adopting the concept of moderation.
By comparison, there is no amount of alcohol that has been proven to be of benefit, even with moderation. It is quite clearly, a poison.
So it's stupid to enjoy something that tastes good and makes you pleasantly light-headed?
Neo-puritans be crazy.
Eat the rich.