There
is no doubt alcohol abuse takes a serious toll on people all around the world. In
the United States, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism1, about 88,000 people die annually from alcohol related
deaths. This makes it the third leading preventable cause of death in the U.S.
Not only is alcohol abuse a problem with our well-being, but can also cause
insanely high economic burdens to our country. In 2006, it was recorded that
$223.5 billion was spent by our country due to alcohol misuse problems. From
liver diseases, to car accidents, to costing our economy billions of dollars, it
is safe to say that alcohol consumption should be restricted in our country and
all around the world. There is nothing good that comes out of drinking alcohol,
right? Wrong! This statement is completely incorrect! Alcohol consumption is
GOOD for you! So go ahead, crack open that beer, grab your bottle of wine or
whatever else your heart desires… Or should I say what your brain desires?
Before
I say anything else, let me make myself clear. Alcohol abuse is a serious problem around the world. The facts stated above
are completely true. When I say alcohol consumption is good for you, the catch
is that it must all be done in moderation, so don’t get too excited. That being
said, let’s go back to drinking whatever your brain desires. An article titled
“If you’re over 60, drink up: Alcohol associated with better memory”2
states that light alcohol consumption during later life is linked with a larger
hippocampus volume, an area of the brain critical for our episodic memory.
Animal studies show that light alcohol consumption can promote new nerve cells
in the hippocampus. This can potentially counter cognitive impairments and
improve our overall memory capabilities.
How
can this be true though? Growing up I would always hear that alcohol
consumption is bad for your health and that alcohol kills your brain cells. These
surprising results that light consumption benefiting our memory can be
explained through experimental studies involving moderate ethanol
preconditioning (MEP) of rat brain cultures. MEP prevents neurodegeneration and
suppresses neuroinflammatory proteins including gp120, the HIV protein
associated with AIDS dementia. Preconditioning the hippocampal cultures with
moderate ethanol of about 20-30 mM results in nearly complete neuroprotection. As
stated before, the hippocampus is crucial for memory, so protection of
hippocampal neurons can counter cognitive deterioration seen in Alzheimer’s
disease and AIDS dementia. Who would have thought that ethanol (alcohol) would
in fact protect our brain cells?!
Unfortunately,
we cannot forget that moderation is absolutely crucial in all of this. The
20-30mM of ethanol used in the MEP studies to protect our neurons equals to
about 4 to 5 drinks. 4 to 5 drinks however, is not moderate drinking for the
average person. The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines
for moderate alcohol consumption is 1 drink for women and 2 drinks for men per
day. So then what is the point to all of this? How can we intake the 20-30mM of
ethanol needed to preserve our precious hippocampal neurons? The answer is
found in wine.
It
turns out that the combined effect of resveratrol, an antioxidant found in
wine, and ethanol can have neuroprotective effects. One would need about 10mM
of ethanol and 5mM of resveratrol, which can be consumed with 2-3 glasses of
wine for men and about 1.5 glasses of wine for women. This is much more efficient
than drinking 4 to 5 drinks a day! So there you have it. Alcohol can potentially
benefit us all through neuroprotection IF done in moderation of course!
1) http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics
2) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131126155839.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment