Doctor explains the staggering impact 'just one' alcoholic drink can have on your brain
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: TikTok/@sermedmezher2 / Getty Images/Atiwich Kaewchum
As we are now officially in December and the festive season is in full swing, a lot of us will be having more alcohol than usual over the next few weeks.
Whether it be the work Christmas party, the Xmas Eve bash, or meeting up with that one pal for the annual 'Christmas pint', a lot of booze is consumed over the course of December.
And you may think having just that one pint may do no harm - but one doctor has explained on TikTok how going for 'just one' can have a negative impact on your brain.
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Dr Sermed Mezher, who has worked in the UK's NHS for six years, said: "Alcohol can damage your brain more than dementia.
"In fact, a recent study from the University of Oxford showed there was no safe drinking limit and that was on over 25,000 adults studied by [Dr Anya] Topiwala and colleagues.
"They found quite clearly that the more you drink, the thinner the cortex part on the outer part of the brain actually got, which is really important for executive function; things like consciousness, planning, memory."
While you'd think no harm would be done through one pint, the results from the study found that drinking any amount of alcohol can damage brain health.
The study didn't link it to any type of alcoholic beverage either.
"We found no evidence to suggest alcoholic beverage type confers differences in risks to the brain," the doctor continued. "This supports the hypothesis that it is ethanol itself, rather than other compounds in the beverage, that is on the biological pathway to damage.
"The associations of wine-drinking with higher educational level and socioeconomic status may explain the apparent health benefits."
Dr Mezher continued: "Those who like to pick their poison, though, it's not all doom and gloom. That's because crews and colleagues found that within just a couple of weeks of stopping drinking, your brain activities stem cell circuits that can regenerate neurons that have been damaged with long-term alcohol use."
A study conducted by the World Health Organization backed up these claims, stating 'no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health'.
Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, who works for the WHO on various projects, said: "We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage.
"The only thing that we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is."
If you've been affected by addiction and want to speak to someone in confidence, you can call American Addiction Centers on (888) 324-0595, available 24/7, or contact them through their website.