Study warns NOT drinking could heighten your risk of dementia

But there are dangers to alcohol consumption. Although moderate consumption might be beneficial to the brain, drinking too much isn’t.

The charity Alzheimer’s Society explains: “Excessive alcohol consumption over a lengthy time period can lead to brain damage, and may increase your risk of developing dementia.”

Doctor Maiken Nedergaard of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at The University of Rochester Medical Centre wrote in a study published in Nature magazine: “Prolonged intake of excessive amounts of ethanol is known to have adverse effects on the central nervous system.”

According to the Alzheimer’s Society, people that drink a lot in the long term are “more likely to have a reduced volume of the brain’s white matter”.