The more wine, beer and spirits you drink throughout your life, the less brain volume you have left later.
Something that can lead to impaired memory and risk of earlier suffering from dementia.
This is clear in a new report.
The new summary report commissioned from, among others, the Brain Fund and the University of Gothenburg shows that the brain is sensitive to alcohol at all ages.
– Alcohol is toxic to all tissues of the body, but especially toxic to nerve cells, i.e. brain cells, says Sven Andréasson, alcohol doctor professor emeritus Karolinska Institutet, and adds:
– It affects all the tasks the brain has.
How quickly does alcohol age the brain?
If, as a 50-year-old, you increase your drinking from zero to one glass of wine per day, for a few years, the brain ages an extra year and a half. If you increase to three glasses of wine, the brain ages an extra ten years.
– Normal aging means a shrinking brain, that’s how it is for all of us. But alcohol accelerates shrinkage and you get less brain tissue the more you drink.
– So you become a little slower in thought, you have a little worse memory and less control over your mobility and balance.
The senior: “The well-being factor too”
TV4 Nyheterna meets seniors Marita and Tomas Wallin at a bar. They appreciate drinking wine a few times a week.
– It is certainly true that alcohol consumption has a relationship with the brain losing speed sooner or later, says Tomas Wallin. and adds:
– You have to set the comfort factor as well – if you think it’s good and you want to enjoy it and so on!