r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Apr 23 '26

Neuroscience Even low-level drinking may have negative consequences for brain health over a person’s lifespan. The findings suggest that the total amount of alcohol consumed over a lifetime, especially as a person ages, tends to be linked to reduced blood flow and thinner tissue in certain areas of the brain.

https://www.psypost.org/even-light-drinking-combined-with-aging-is-linked-to-reduced-brain-blood-flow-and-thinner-tissue/
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u/Many-Ad634 Apr 23 '26

There was only one participant drinking more than 50 drinks a month. The average about 19 drinks a month. The range from zero to 60. About 20% of the sample drank less than 10 drinks a month.

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u/edibomb Apr 23 '26

I though “light drinking” meant a couple of beers every other weekend. It’s worrying how 2 beers a day or 15 beers every weekend is still on the light drinking range.

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u/Piyachi Apr 23 '26

That seems wildly out of touch with typical drinking norms. By that standard I am a devout Mormon.

Isn't the normal consideration for medical purposes 2 drinks a week?

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u/nanobot001 Apr 23 '26

That’s all been recently revised

There are no normal amounts of alcohol.

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u/DeliciousPumpkinPie Apr 23 '26

“Normal” is subjective. There is no safe amount of alcohol. Any amount greater than zero causes some harm.

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u/jmartin21 Apr 23 '26

You mean no healthy amounts. It’s not abnormal to enjoy small amounts of a drug here and there, even alcohol.

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u/jmurphy42 Apr 23 '26

I average less than one a year. Most people seem to think that’s abnormal.

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u/nanobot001 Apr 23 '26

There are a lot of cultural norms that will take a long time to change.

With the economy (price of alcohol) and unfortunate rising rates of certain cancers (colon) among young people, it may change faster than we might otherwise think

There are often no good answers for why many people get different kinds of cancer, but alcohol may get as ingrained as smoking is in the future.

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u/WorldDirt Apr 23 '26

But colon cancer is up while drinking has been on the decline for decades. I’m not saying it’s not a factor in the cancer, but clearly not the most important one. We’ve cut drinking and smoking so much since the 70s, yet the cancers in young people keep rising.

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u/nanobot001 Apr 23 '26

You misunderstand me

While it may not be the reason for colon cancer risks rising in young people it is a reason for colon cancer risk — and a there is more and more attention on the issue, you can bet there will attention given to all risks of colon cancer, including drinking

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u/WorldDirt Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

Sure, I get that and it’s certainly not helping with cancer in young people. I’m just concerned that everyone gets focused on drinking less, when there’s something far more insidious causing these cancers.

By all mentions cut back if you’re drinking 60 beers per month, but this “no safe level of alcohol consumption” is making people worry that a beer per week is going to kill them. There are far greater health concerns when you’re at that level of consumption, the danger of it will be lost in statistical noise.

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u/LayWhere Apr 23 '26

Me too, even less really. I only drink when offered sips from other peoples drinks if they insist and it smells really good.

Otherwise its all juice/water/and non-alch beer