Even one or two drinks can accelerate nerve cell damage, says a neurologist. If you’ve already turned 65, not a single drop.
The American neurologist Richard Restak advised people to become completely teetotal from the age of 65, says the .
The alcohol “not good for nerve cells”writes Dr. Restak in his book, The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind.
His perspective is very clear: “I strongly suggest that if you are 65 or older, you completely and permanently eliminate alcohol from your diet,” the doctor writes.
This is because ingesting any type of alcoholic beverage can accelerate the aging of nerve cells. Furthermore, from the age of 65, there is a 5 times greater chance of developing it (and the risk increases every 5 years).
According to the Daily Mail, it is estimated that almost a million Britons live with dementia, around one in 14 people over the age of 65. In Portugal, there are around 200 thousand patients with dementia.
However, this number in England is predicted to increase to almost 1.5 million over the coming decades as the population continues to age.
Some organizations, such as Alzheimer’s Research UK, argue that about half of Alzheimer’s cases could be mitigatedif not even avoided if there was a reduction in alcohol consumption.
And that’s why Brits are advised to do not drink more than 14 units of alcohol per weekwhich is approximately six medium-sized pints of beer or one and a half bottles of wine.
In addition to the most common forms of the disease, explains the British newspaper, excessive alcohol consumption, which is one of the factors for the development of the disease, can also cause a type of dementia called Sde Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
This health problem occurs when alcohol disrupts the body’s ability to absorb a nutrient called vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, which is vital for keeping brain cells healthy.
