MODEST ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION CAN BRING A HEALTHIER BRAIN, NEW STUDY SAYS (Additional Coverage)

Source: https://newslanded.com/

Aravindh Sundar

July 3, 2020

The trend towards alcohol is fast growing at the time. It is one of the most popular psychoactive substances in the world and can have powerful effects on the mental aspects of the people. A standard alcoholic drink in the US is said to be 14 grams or milliliters of alcohol. Some people may drink a small amount at a time, while others tend to binge it. A lot of studies prove the harmful effects of consuming alcohol, but a new study says that it might increase the cognitive ability of a person when he/she takes it lightly.

Researchers say that they are very sure that alcohol causes severe effects and even lead to premature death in both men and women. But what we need to focus on is how it helps when it is consumed moderately. Low to moderate drink was assumed when the women drink less than eight drinks in a week and less than 15 drinks per week.

A study published on Monday by JAMA Network analyzed data on 19,887 individuals with the mean average age of 61.8 years from the University of Michigan’s Health and Retirement Study. These samples were used for testing their cognitive skill, mental status, and vocabulary from 1996 to 2008 for 12 years. They found that low to moderate drinking was associated with increased cognition scores for mental status when compared with non-alcoholics. Also, the study showed a wide difference in cognitive results based on racial and ethnic groups.

Surprisingly, African Americans did not help out with the cognitive ability in the study; however, white people’s cognitive skills were increased when they took alcohol. This proved that some ethnic groups may vary in their vulnerability to the positive effects of alcohol, which is yet to be uncovered. The best cognitive benefit is possible when people drink alcohol around 10 to 14 drinks, as shown in the study.

Though this study enlightens the positive effects on consuming alcohol, it is not recommended for the people who aren’t a drinker. Further exploration of the study is required to give evidence for the promising results.