A group of scientists has revealed that the more alcohol a person consumes, the more your brain shrinks. Their study contrasts with other reports have shown that moderate consumption of alcohol itself can be good for the heart.

The long-lived teetotalers had the least volume loss cerebra lLos Researchers led by Carol Ann Paul of Wellesley College in Massachusetts wanted to know whether alcohol also protected against the inevitable loss of brain volume that people experience as birthdays. But they found that it is not.

In fact, long-lived teetotalers had the least loss of brain volume, while ex-drinkers, moderate consumers of alcohol and those taking large amounts of alcohol experienced more progressive brain reduction, as they wrote in the journal Archives of Neurology .

The trend was most pronounced in women than in men. This could be due to increased female sensitivity to alcohol is effects and their smaller size on average compared with men, researchers said.

He sought a protective effect in people who drank one to seven drinks per week “We know that people who drink heavily have a deterioration in brain volume. What we were looking for was a protective effect in people who drank one to seven drinks per week, “said Paul. “My expectation was that (alcohol) was (protective). And it turned out well,” said the study director, School of Public Health at Boston University.

The results were based on data from 1839 American adults between 33 and 88 years who reported their alcohol consumption and underwent MRIs to check their brain volume.