An American neurologist, expert in brain health and author of a book on preventing dementia, warns that alcohol should be completely eliminated from a certain age.
The age at which alcohol consumption should be stopped is 65 PHOTO Shutterstock
Neurologist Richard Restak, author of several books on brain health, pointed out in one of his publications that “alcohol is a very, very weak neurotoxin,” so it’s “not good for nerve cells.” According to the expert, the effects can be particularly severe once you reach the age of 65, because the human body has fewer neurons than before. “It is essential to abstain from alcohol at a stage of life when neuron preservation is crucial“, the expert also pointed out.
Although the loss is not as significant as it might seem – recent studies by the British Psychological Society show that we can lose between “2 to 4%” of neurons over a lifetime.
The main reason alcohol should be eliminated is to decrease the risk of developing dementia. According to research by Alzheimer’s Society UK, people who drink too much (more than 14 units of alcohol each week) are putting their brains and other organs at risk.
Finally, the World Health Organization suggests that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for health. “We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol consumption. It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the health risk starts with the first drop. The only thing we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is”, says doctor Carina Ferreira-Borges.
