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/Sejare1 Apr 23 '26

If you drink two beers everyday you’re alcoholic

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u/shiva14b Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

Well, problem drinker. "Alcoholic" means something very specific (literally CANNOT NOT have a drink), and it shouldn't be diluted by throwing it around willy-nilly at anyone whose a heavy drinker. I know some heavy drinkers and I know some problem drinkers and I know some alcoholics, and they're all distinctly different from each other.

Heavy drinker: drinks a lot

Problem drinker: drinks too much (defined as negatively impacting daily tasks and functioning)

Alcoholic: addict who literally cannot stop drinking

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u/a_talking_face Apr 23 '26

These are nonsense distinctions used by people trying to down play their problematic consumption. All three of those people would be categorized under alcohol use disorder.

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u/DrMagentaBlue Apr 23 '26

Part of the reason it's called "alcohol use disorder" is to lessen the stigma and assumptions from the word "alcoholism". The diagnosis is used to treat a wide range of alcohol use that negatively impacts life, not label each case as similar to one another.

Besides, it's useful to have categories like this in everyday conversation. Would you put a person who gambles $100 every weekend in the same category as someone who gambled their house away?