Study shows just 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day damage your brain

For many years the science has been clear that heavy drinking is associated with many negative outcomes including damaged brain cells. However, in 2022, 36,000 adults in the UK were studied to see if light/moderate drinking had similar effects.

A team from the University of Pennsylvania found that indeed, light to moderate alcohol consumption is in fact associated with reductions in overall brain volume.

The greater the level of alcohol, the greater the brain volume reductions, but even as little as 1-2 pints of beer or 1-2 glasses of wine per day ages the brain the equivalent of two years. Three drinks a day has the equivalent of 3.5 years of brain decay/damage.

The prevailing theories and even the governmental guidelines for safe drinking limits had recommended no more than 1 drink per day for women and no more than 2 drinks per day for men, but this latest research shows this only lessens but does not eliminate brain damage by alcohol.

The MRIs from the study showed that most of the reductions were of gray and white matter which is found throughout the brain. There was not any single area of the brain that was more impacted than any other.

The team controlled for age, height, sex, BMI, socioeconomic status, head size and many other metrics to ensure as accurate of findings as possible. The study's participants self-reported the number of alcoholic drinks they consumed per week.

The range tested showed that the difference between those who consume 0 daily average drinks to those with 1 daily average drink was brain damage equivalent to aging 6 months. The difference between 0 versus 4 daily drinks equals 10 years of brain aging.

Gideon Nave, a corresponding author on the study and faculty member at Penn’s Wharton School says “the people who can benefit the most from drinking less are the people who are already drinking the most.” This is because there is evidence that the results are exponential.

While there are remaining questions about the exact cause, the role genetics plays and longterm studies, the bottom line is it doesn't take more than a drink a day to damage and age your brain. Even just reducing your daily drink(s) makes a positive impact.

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