Studies have shown that having a drink or two a day may be good for the heart, but a new study suggests that moderate drinking may not be so beneficial for the brain.
![Alcohol linked with brain shrinkage Alcohol linked with brain shrinkage](https://drop.ndtv.com/images/story-noimage.png?q=50)
They found that light-to-moderate drinking did not seem to have a protective effect on the brain. Light (one to six drinks a week) to moderate (seven or more drinks a week) drinkers were no more likely to have signs of dead brain tissue show up on the MRI scan. Among drinkers, each additional drink consumed per week was associated with a decrease in brain volume. This association was seen in men and women. But researchers caution that the reduction in brain size was small, and whether such a reduction has any significant effect is unknown. The study is not the first to suggest that drinking can affect brain volume, but it does provide evidence that the process may begin sooner than expected. However the impact of drinking on brain health and the risk of stroke remains uncertain. The clinical significance of the small reduction of brain volume associated with moderate alcohol drinking observed in the present study is unknown.
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