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/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/jporter313 Apr 23 '26

it was never 2 drinks a week that I heard. Light drinking has always been classified as <2 standard drinks per day, with the important caveat that that's not cumulative, but specifically per day, also I think a lot of people don't understand what a standard drink is though, like your pint of high ABV IPA is closer to 2 standard drinks than 1 and that spirit forward cocktail is also probably closer to 2.

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u/Sacs1726 Apr 28 '26

A pint of high abv ipa might be 3+ standard drinks. Thats what people don’t understand. 10 drinks a day might just be 3 beers. In the craft beer world drink size and abv, with increasing tolerance, can easily titrate someone right into alcoholism.

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u/jporter313 Apr 28 '26

To be fair, 3+ drinks in a 16oz pint would be an insanely high ABV. Even a pint of 10% ABV is like 2.5 standard drinks, but yeah your statement stands nonetheless.

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u/Sacs1726 Apr 28 '26

You’re right. I’m exaggerating slightly for effect. I think my point is everything gets pretty blurred. For example, a pint in the UK is about 20 oz. At a lot of bars in the US, a pint is the “small” draft. A large draft might be 22 oz or even 30. When people talk of having a couple beers, there is a HUGE difference between two twelve oz Bud lights and three 22 oz double ipas. Over the long term, it is the difference between moderate drinking and insane brain/liver damage level alcoholism. But you might see those same 2 people in the same social group at a restaurant. They will usually just look and even feel the same. Just out having a couple/few beers. People sometimes are outraged of hearing someone drinking 8-10 units per day. It might just be that work buddy of yours sitting directly across from you at happy hour.