Drinking just two beers per day can ‘age your brain by ten years.’ Scientists claim

Scientists claim that drinking just two beers per day can cause the brain to age by the equivalent of ten years.

Drinkers, particularly those in their forties and fifties, have been warned to keep their bad habits under control.

The study discovered that drinking a couple of pints or glasses of wine with dinner may hasten the ageing process.

Researchers examined MRI brain scans of 36,000 adults in the United Kingdom before asking them about their drinking habits.

Their findings indicated that a 50-year-old with a habit of two daily drinks (four units) had a brain that was ten years older than if they abstained from alcohol entirely.

The link worsened as a person drank more, according to the findings published in Nature Communications.

Even those who drank only one pint of beer or a glass of wine per day had brains that were two years older.

Given that the chief medical officer’s recommended weekly alcohol intake for Brits is 14 units – six pints of average-strength beer or ten small glasses of lower-strength wine – this is not considered a dangerous amount of alcohol.

In the United States, the guidelines are similar, but men are allowed to drink more than women.

“These findings contradict scientific and governmental guidelines on safe drinking limits,” said Professor Henry Kranzler, director of the Penn Center for Studies of Addiction.

“For example, while the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommends that women consume no more than one drink per day on average, recommended limits for men are twice that, an amount that exceeds the consumption level associated with decreased brain volume in the study.”

The “one more drink” mentality, according to co-corresponding author Remi Daviet, who is now at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is harmful.

“There is some evidence that the effect of alcohol on the brain is exponential,” he said.

“As a result, one additional drink in a day may have a greater impact than any of the previous drinks that day.”

“This means that cutting back on that last drink of the night could have a significant impact on brain ageing.”

According to the study, three units per day aged the brain by 3.5 years, but just one more unit increased this to five years.

“This study looked at average consumption, but we’re curious whether drinking one beer a day is better than drinking none during the week and then seven on the weekend,” said assistant professor Gideon Nave, a corresponding author on the study.

“There is some evidence that binge drinking is bad for the brain, but we haven’t looked into it thoroughly yet.”

Grey matter (the spongy tissue on the outside of the organ) and white matter were the areas of the brain that were affected (the tissue on the inside).

Brain matter is the home of brain cells and the connections that connect them, as well as much, much more. When it becomes ill, it can cause conditions such as dementia and multiple sclerosis.

The scientists discovered that the lower brain volume was not restricted to a single brain region..

Everyone who enjoys a drink is aware that it can alter brain chemistry, causing feelings of relaxation, recklessness, and other emotions.

However, the long-term effects on the brain are far more serious and may be permanent.