posted October 25, 2012 06:08 AM            

Drinking a couple of glasses of wine each day has generally been considered a good way to promote cardiovascular and brain health. But a new Rutgers University study indicates that its still a risky behavior that can decrease the making of adult brain cells by as much as 40 percent.

U.S. health officials define moderate drinking as up to two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women (pregnant women should abstain completely.) A standard drink can come in the form of a 12-ounce beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or a 1.5-ounce cocktail of 80-proof liquor.

Those who drink alcoholic beverages may want to rethink their drinking in light of the many warnings about smaller amounts of alcohol use. The alcohol industry and the media have portrayed one glass, even two glasses, of wine or beer as not only safe, but possibly healthy. They tell the public that there is only danger when the use of alcohol is excessive or abusive.

In a study posted online and scheduled to be published in the journal Neuroscience on November 8, lead author Megan Anderson, a graduate student working with Tracey J. Shors, Professor II in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology, reported that even moderate drinking -- drinking less during the week and more on the weekends -- significantly reduces the structural integrity of the adult brain.

"In the short term there may not be any noticeable motor skills or overall functioning problems, but in the long term this type of behavior could have an adverse effect on learning and memory," said Anderson.

Alcohol itself is a Class A human carcinogen and increases the risk of breast, colon, liver, and oral cancers. It is a drug that suppresses the central nervous system, like barbiturates, sedatives, and anesthetics. Alcohol is not a stimulant, even though the person who drinks seems stimulated because the alcohol is affecting portions of the brain that control judgment. It is a depression of self-control, not a stimulant.

Most of the studies on red wine clearly show that it is not the alcohol itself that gives wine its protective effects. What are beneficial are the abundant quantities of compounds that are found even in red wine that has been dealcoholized. Specificially resveratrol is a phenolic compound that contributes to the antioxidant potential of red wine.

Shors and Anderson worked with postdoctoral fellow Miriam Nokia from the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland to model moderate to heavy drinking in humans using rodents that reached a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent -- the legal driving limit in the United States and many other countries -- and found that brain cell production was affected negatively.

The researchers discovered that at this level of intoxication in rats -- comparable to about 3-4 drinks for women and five drinks for men -- the number of nerve cells in the hippocampus of the brain were reduced by nearly 40 percent compared to those in the abstinent group of rodents. The hippocampus is a part of the brain where the new neurons are made and is also known to be necessary for some types of new learning.

This level of alcohol intake was not enough to impair the motor skills of either male or female rats or prevent them from associative learning in the short-term. Still, Anderson said, this substantial decrease in brain cell numbers over time could have profound effects on the structural plasticity of the adult brain because these

new cells communicate with other neurons to regulate brain health.

"If this area of your brain was affected every day over many months and years, eventually you might not be able to learn how to get somewhere new or to learn something new about your life," said Anderson, a graduate fellow in the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology. "It's something that you might not even be aware is occurring." (interesting)

"Alcohol is underestimated as a cause of cancer in many parts of the world," said Dr Paolo Boffetta of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France.

"A sizeable proportion of cancer today is due to alcohol intake and this is increasing in many regions, particularly in east Asia and eastern Europe," he added in an interview.

Boffetta and Mia Hashibe, who reviewed research into the link between alcohol and cancer, found the more alcohol consumed, the higher the risk of developing cancer.

"This research indicates that social or daily drinking may be more harmful to brain health than what is now believed by the general public," said Anderson.

Many researchers claim that any heart gains from drinking alcohol in moderation are likely outweighed by the harm.

The way that many studies on alcohol are carried out do not allow the researchers to be able to say with certainty that the findings could not be due to other factors rather than solely the amount of alcohol consumed.

Belinda Linden, head of medical information at the British Heart Foundation said: "This suggests that light to moderate alcohol consumption may only give a small amount of protection against coronary heart disease."

According to one study, black men who consumed between 140 and 210 grams of ethanol each week are more than twice as likely as their non-drinking peers to have heart disease. In contrast, white men who drank similar amounts were nearly half as likely to experience heart disease as white men who did not drink.

"We have to put all these discrepancies into perspective," said Keith Johnson from the UK Drug and Alcohol Foundation. "There is no such thing as poison in moderation and people have to realize that although alcohol has been around for thousands of years, it doesn't mean that long-term consumption from even light drinking is healthy," he stated.

Marco Torres is a research specialist, writer and consumer advocate for healthy lifestyles. He holds degrees in Public Health and Environmental Science and is a professional speaker on topics such as disease prevention, environmental toxins and health policy.
http://preventdisease.com/news/12/102512_Even-Moderate -Consumption-of-Wine-or-Alcohol-May-Decrease-New-Brain-Cells.shtml

posted October 25, 2012 08:51 AM            

I'm also curious how the study was actually done, my impression of how I think it was done based on the article makes me think of it as pretty flawed...but then articles routinely explain the science and the studies wrong (they're a major source of aggravation for scientists).

posted October 26, 2012 02:33 PM            

I think NOT exercising the brain causes it to turn to flab, too. Most people who get mentally lazy lose more and more of their brain (including their short term memory) irregardless to whether they drink or not. But people who exercise their brain, even those who drink, tend to remain sharp.

I've sometimes wondered if the reasons the brain "doesn't mature until about 25" isn't actually because people are usually around 25 when they settle into a routine and get about more by habit (that is, automatic pilot) rather than thinking their way through it. (One of the changes to happen to the brain as it matures is it loses the ability to quickly adapt, that is it loses some intelligence even if impulse control becomes stronger, possibly the improved impulse control coming about because to not resist one's more reckless impulses is to disrupt the routine one has come to depend on, and I wonder if it's that one settles down that "matures" the brain more than the brain maturing causing one to settle down.) One reason I wonder about that was because one guy who lost his job due to a head injury had to take a job as a cab and as his brain was being monitored the parts of his brain that dealt with memory increased, apparently his learning directions and addresses and having to remember it actually made him smarter (that is he was forced to adapt and become smarter so he did, and though it was hard, like it is to get a flabby body back into shape, it can be done).

But our brains are so mysterious that we're just not able to fully understand them yet. For example, why do some people recover from head trauma with a different accent (with unconfirmed reports of even speaking a foreign language), spontaneous ability to play a musical instrument, or even a change in sexual orientation (as well as sexual appetite)? Of course personality changes of a less radical nature are even more common.

And why is it that even minor brain damage can cause disability, but like one girl I saw interviewed who had HALF HER BRAIN removed seem almost completely normal? (IIRC, she spent the first few months after brain surgery learning to walk again, however.) I also met an old man who had part of his brain cut out and I never guessed it until I was told (he did suffer symptoms, and he also had a terrible short term memory and thus always losing things but then he smoked a lot of pot, too, so it's hard to say which is to blame for that).

posted October 26, 2012 04:20 PM            

I tried Johnny Walker Gold reserve the other day- on the rocks, boy was I floating... too strong. I could actually feel brain cells exploding.

posted October 26, 2012 04:26 PM            

My next juice cleanse is when I will be abstaining- then after about 6-8 weeks I am practically drooling for a glass of red.

My ex has drunk a bottle of scotch a day for ten years and he is still the same person as ten years ago, not one thing is different and he has become incredibly thick headed.

posted October 26, 2012 11:13 PM            

Maybe because my life path has brought me to a place where I understand addiction, drug or alcohol abuse more intimately than the average person ever could and grew up surrounded by addict friends and family....I have a more compassionate & personal view....a more educated & undertanding veiw (i'd like to believe), i can't take the same judgemental stance as the average person and really feel for and understand these people. People who've never been there have no idea...really no clue. But are quick to look down on another.

Quick note just to pass on a great book I'll post about in Pilgrim's Progress in a min.

I guess I get tired of people who act high and mighty because they have stayed on the straight and narrow and look down at others who can't or havent like they are all losers or bad people or beyond help. It's usually the most "spiritual" or religious people who are most judgemental and least understanding in this regard and act "better than" (not you, SunChild) and like addicts are automatically "bad people". They dont get past the surface and don't understand what's really going on and usually just try to make them feel worse and end up contributing to the problem.

I'm tired of it. I suppose people wouldnt want to educate themselves on addiction if they didnt grow up around it or have to live with someone in the throwes of it or find it disgusting or weakminded or whatever. It's easier to blame them and say they are are a horrible, weak person.

Point is, addicts don't care how "toxic" something is. They already know and you reminding them will not help or is not what is needed to get through to them. It goes a lot deeper than that. And I'd be willing to bet 90% of them are a million times more sensitive than you are.

K....getting off topic. Just tired of certain people who claim to be caring and compassionate, but don't demonstrate that to some of their brothers and sisters who need it most. And instead like to use them as a reminder to themselves as to how much better they are and try to make them feel worse about themselves. I see this happen a lot.

I think it's mostly a matter of not knowing enough.

will be back with a link to a book I think might help people....

__________________________

posted November 19, 2012 02:00 PM            

Nice that you understand him more. Doesnt mean you can do anything for him, or could have even at that time, but a new persepective is always good. The reasons people become addicted to substances are almost endless and usually quite complex and almost always involve some sort of trauma. Not to mention genetics. Sucks when you can't snap someone you care about out of it.

Hope things have gotten better between you two.

Take care.

posted December 21, 2012 11:07 AM            

I didn't realize alcohol was a known carcinogen.. that part surprised me, to read that it is a well-known fact. I guess it is like smoking - knowing something will not keep people from indulging in it necessarily.