DRY JANUARY has prompted many of us to give up booze for the month.
But if you’re a certain age, it might be wise extend your dry spell and stay away from alcohol altogether to prevent the development of deadly dementia.
GettyDrinking regularly can increase your risk of dementia in later life[/caption]
That’s because drinking regularly or bingeing can inflict damage on your brain health, according Dr Richard Restak.
In his new book How to Prevent Dementia: An Expert’s Guide to Long-Term Brain Health, the author and neurologist described booze as a “direct neurotoxin”.
Neurotoxins are substances that damage, destroy or impair the function of the nervous system, which includes brain.
Due to the damage alcohol can cause to our brain and memory, Dr Restak suggested an age where you should cut it out of your life completely.
“I strongly suggest that if you are 65 years old or older, that you completely and permanently eliminate alcohol from your diet,” he wrote.
But he suggested all people reconsider their relationship to drinking, especially if they rely on it calm you and boost your mood or get you through social situations.
If these apply to you, the neurologist said, “you may be at some peril, and it’s probably best to stop altogether”.
How does alcohol damage the brain?
According to Alzheimer’s Society, evidence shows that excessive alcohol consumption increases a person’s risk of developing dementia.
Boozing is linked to reduced volume of the brain’s white matter, which helps to transmit signals between different brain regions, leading to issues in brain function, the charity explained.
Over a long period of time, drinking more than the recommended limit of 14 units of alcohol a week “may shrink the parts of the brain involved in memory”, it went on.
“Drinking more than 28 units per week can lead to a sharper decline in thinking skills as people get older,” Alzheimer’s Society added.
Dr Restak said there’s a specific type of dementia linked to indulging in too much booze: Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which is “marked by a severe loss of recent memory” and “results from the direct effect of alcohol on the brain”.
Long-term heavy drinking can also result in a lack of vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, causing the syndrome.
Regularly drinking too much alcohol over several years can also cause alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD), Azheimer’s Society said.
Features of this brain disorder include difficulties with:
Staying focused on a task without becoming distracted
Solving problems, planning and organising
Setting goals, making judgements and making decisions
Being motivated to do tasks or activities, even essential ones like eating or drinking
controlling emotions – you may become irritable or have outbursts
Understanding how other people are thinking or feeling – their behaviour may seem insensitive or uncaring
Understanding new information and retaining recent conversations or events
What can I do to slash my risk of dementia?
Some risk factors for dementia – including your genes, your age and your exposure to air pollution – can be impossible to change.
But there are certain lifestyle saviours you could implement to lower the likelihood of you getting the brain robbing disease in other ways.
1. Regularly exercising
There’s strong evidence to suggest that a lack of physical exercise can increase a person’s risk of developing dementia, according to Alzheimer’s Society.
A recent US study suggested that people with more lean muscle mass through life were 12 per cent less at risk of the deadly disease in old age.
Yet another piece of research that sitting for 10 hours a day can “rapidly” increase the risk of dementia.
2. Don’t smoke
Smoking can put you at much higher risk of developing dementia in later life as it increases the chance of heart and blood vessel issues, which have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
3. Treat depression
Depression is incredibly common, but research shows that leaving the condition untreated could increase your risk of developing dementia, the NHS said.
People who have had periods of depression in their life also have a higher risk of developing dementia, according to Alzheimer’s Society.
Speak to a GP if you think you have depression and they’ll be able to refer you for treatment like talking therapy or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
4. Manage your high blood pressure and diabetes
Certain health conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, can increase your risk of getting dementia.
So getting regular health checks to make sure you’re managing these conditions is a good way to keep on top of this risk.