Almost everyone knows that too much drinking is not a good idea. For those who still need more convincing, however, a new paper published in the journal Neurology looked at the brains of almost 1800 subjects and found that those who were heavy drinkers had dramatically increased risks of a variety of brain issues.

It is important to note that the term ‘heavy drinker’ doesn’t indicate nearly as much alcohol as most people would assume. For the purposes of the study, a heavy drinker is someone who drinks eight or more alcoholic drinks per week. That is just one drink per day and two on Saturday night, which is very modest by many people’s standards.

The study looked at both pre and postmortem brains and compared it with autopsy reports, living health records, and other information to determine what type of effect heavy drinking would have.

Perhaps the most concerning statistic is that only 40% of the brains of those who did not drink at all had any lesions. For those who drink a moderate amount, that number went up by 60%. Heavy drinkers who quit before death faired even worse, with an 89% increased risk of brain lesions. Finally, those who were heavy drinkers up to the point of their death had an increased risk of 133%, which is very dramatic.

While that is clearly bad news for heavy drinkers, it does offer some level of hope. The study showed that those who quit drinking had a lower risk of lesions than those who continued drinking their whole life. This indicates that the brain can recover from even years of heavy drinking.

In a press release about the study, the researchers say:

“Researchers also found heavy and former heavy drinkers had higher odds of developing tau tangles… with 41 [percent] and 31 [percent] higher odds, respectively. Former heavy drinking was associated with a lower brain mass ratio, a smaller proportion of brain mass compared to body mass, and worse cognitive abilities.”

This research goes directly against the commonly held belief that one (or even two) drinks per evening is actually healthy. While that level of drinking may have some benefits to other parts of the body (and even that is debated), this study seems to make it clear that it is terrible for the brain. In the press release, they were very clear, saying:

“We found heavy drinking is directly linked to signs of injury in the brain and this can cause long-term effects on brain health, which may impact memory and thinking abilities.”

The authors of the study undoubtedly hope that this new information will help people to make the smart choice to cut back on drinking, or avoid it entirely. This will give their brains a chance to heal, which could help them to avoid serious conditions in the future.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about why we should be worried about the leak in the bottom of the ocean.