Alcohol May Reduce Risk of Alzheimers, a New Study Reports

Nov, 2020 - By WMR

Scientists believe there are long term, irreversible consequences of regular heavy drinking. Heavy drinking is now considered at least eight to nine drinks a week for males or eight or more for females. The effects of alcohol on your brain, memory, emotions, and behavior may not be realized until after you've already developed the disease, but alcohol can affect your health. That's why it's important to stop the intake of alcohol before you become dependent and to avoid it altogether if possible.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted a study that focused on the risks of drinking alcohol to Alzheimer's disease. Researchers believe that alcohol can play an important role in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. It has been linked to plaque that builds up in the brain, called plaques that can be a risk factor for Alzheimer's. If you don't get enough alcohol in your diet, you will also lose nutrients from the diet and become depleted in vital nutrients. Some research has even suggested that moderate alcohol use can help protect against Parkinson's disease.

The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The National Institutes of Health, through its NIA, supports research into drugs, alcohol, and other substance use disorders. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism supports research into alcohol use disorders, alcoholism, and other related conditions.

The risk of Alzheimer's disease is associated with drinking alcohol in a binge fashion. Researchers found that binge drinkers who drank less than one to two drinks a day were less likely to develop the disease than non-drinkers. The research was published in the January 2020 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical Research. Dr. Mary Geary, a researcher at the NIAAA and her colleagues analyzed data from over 1.2 million people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, including almost 2.2 million healthy elderly people without the disease, to identify whether there was an increased likelihood of Alzheimer's among heavy drinkers.

While there was no evidence to suggest that alcohol increases the risk of Alzheimer's, the findings did point to the possibility that people with the disease might be at risk even if they don't drink much, they may develop the disease in middle age. It's important to remember that there are many other factors that increase the chances of developing the disease, such as genetic predisposition.

The findings were supported by several studies that looked at other health risks of alcohol and Alzheimer's, like alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, and compared them to this study. Alcohol has been linked to high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, liver disease, and other health issues. Studies also suggested there is a link between alcohol abuse and suicidal thoughts. Because this is a relatively new area of research, there is a lot of conflicting information on the potential dangers of alcohol.

According to Dr. Geary, the study also did not include people who are thought to be at higher risk of Alzheimer's because of their age or other health conditions, like cancer, diabetes, or hypertension. They also did not include individuals who may be alcoholics, who had been known to have dementia and have alcohol use disorders.