Annie Walton Doyle
A doctor has revealed the exact age you should stop drinking alcohol.
We all know that drinking alcohol isn’t the healthiest choice – but sometimes, it’s a little too tempting.
If you’ve been considering giving up drinking for good, you might feel firm in your decision once you learn of its possible long-term effects.
Most people can drink alcohol without issue but for others, it can be a difficult relationship.
Rethinking Drinking advises you to cut drinking out of your life if you ‘cannot stay within the limits you set,’ have had alcohol use disorder (AUD) or now have symptoms, or have had a physical or mental health condition that is being worsened by drinking.
Even if you aren’t dependent on alcohol or struggling with addiction, cutting down or stopping can have some major benefits.
Drink Aware reports that ‘alcohol is linked to seven different types of cancer including bowel cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, and mouth cancer.’
It continues: “Drinking alcohol also causes other long-term health problems. Stopping drinking lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, liver disease, s**ual dysfunction, and gut problems.”
Aside from all this, there’s another major reason to quit.
Dr. Richard Restak, neurologist and author of ‘How to Prevent Dementia: An Expert’s Guide to Long-Term Brain Health,’ has also described how alcohol can impact your brain function.
The expert describes it as a ‘direct neurotoxin,’ or a substance that damages, destroys, or impairs the function of the nervous system.
Mayo Clinic elaborates: “Alcohol is a neurotoxin that can disrupt communications of the brain. It also affects the functions of brain cells. This can lead to intellectual impairment, headaches, memory loss, slowed thinking, slurred speech, and trouble with balance and coordination.
“Excessive drinking can affect your nervous system, causing numbness and pain in your hands and feet, seizures, and dementia.”
Dr. Restak says there’s an exact age when you should give up drinking.
He writes: “Ask yourself, ‘Why do I drink?’ If the answer is ‘because alcohol helps me to elevate my mood and lower my anxiety,’ you may be at some peril, and it’s probably best to stop altogether.
“I strongly suggest that if you are 65 years old or older, that you completely and permanently eliminate alcohol from your diet.”
Evidence points to excessive alcohol consumption increasing a person’s risk of developing dementia.
The Alzheimer’s Society elaborates: “Drinking alcohol is linked to reduced volume of the brain’s white matter, which helps to transmit signals between different brain regions.
“This can lead to issues with the way the brain functions. Alcohol consumption above [the] recommended limits (of 14 units per week) over a long period of time may shrink the parts of the brain involved in memory.
“Drinking more than 28 units per week can lead to a sharper decline in thinking skills as people get older.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at 1-800-662-4357 in the U.S.A.
In the U.K., you can contact FRANK at 0300 123 6600 or talktofrank.com for confidential advice and information about drugs, their effects, and the law.
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