Drinking This Amount Of Alcohol Increases Your Dementia Risk By 17%

In an episode of the mindbodygreen podcast, neurophysiologist Louisa Nicola outlined the impact that moderate alcohol consumption (i.e., seven alcoholic beverages a week) can have on global cognitive function. 

“I'm very honest when I say no amount of alcohol is good for the brain. When you sit in [the moderate drinking] category, [the scientific literature] shows that you can literally have low-level brain damage. You are killing the neurons in your brain,” Nicola explains, referencing a 2022 Nature Communications review1. “So, drinking is not good for you,” she expounds.

Unsurprisingly, the impact of alcohol on overall brain function can play into dementia risk as well. In fact, the Lancet updated its dementia prevention review in 2020 to add three new modifiable risk factors of dementia: air pollution, traumatic brain injury, and excessive alcohol consumption. Researchers found that consuming more than 21 units (more on that quantity in a minute) of alcoholic drinks per week increases dementia risk by 17%2. 

This isn’t prohibition, and we certainly aren’t telling you how much alcohol you should or shouldn’t consume. That said, the science shows there’s certainly an association with moderate drinking and cognitive impairment midlife and beyond.

Of course, alcohol consumption isn’t the only factor that affects cognitive function and longevity.

It’s time for us to face the truth—alcohol isn’t the best for our brains. But like anything else that challenges our brain (or overall) longevity, moderation is key.