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Alcohol

All articles tagged with #alcohol

Alcohol Rewires Brain Networks, Isolating Regions
science3 days ago

Alcohol Rewires Brain Networks, Isolating Regions

A Minnesota-led study with 107 adults found that alcohol at a driving-penalty level increases local brain connectivity and clustering while reducing global connectivity, making brain regions more insular. These network changes measured by MRI after rest predict subjective intoxication and may explain common alcohol effects like visual and motor impairment; effects vary by individual and health status, with broader implications for understanding alcohol's impact on brain communication.

via ScienceAlert|
#alcohol#brain#mri
Two Everyday Habits Drive Most Preventable Cancers, Study Finds
health14 days ago

Two Everyday Habits Drive Most Preventable Cancers, Study Finds

A Nature Medicine study links the majority of preventable cancers to two everyday habits—smoking and alcohol—while also noting roles for obesity, physical inactivity, air pollution, and HPV infection; the findings emphasize actions like quitting smoking, reducing alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight and activity, and HPV vaccination to lower cancer risk globally.

via My Modern Met|
#alcohol#cancer#health
Alcohol Reconfigures Brain Networks into Local Clusters
science27 days ago

Alcohol Reconfigures Brain Networks into Local Clusters

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 107 healthy social drinkers used resting-state fMRI and graph-theory analysis to show that acute alcohol intake (0.08 BAC) shifts the brain from a globally integrated network to a more fragmented, locally connected topology: global efficiency drops (notably in the occipital cortex) while local efficiency and clustering rise, effectively fracturing the brain into smaller communities. The insula also increases local connections, and these network changes correlate with how intoxicated participants felt. The findings offer a neural basis for alcohol-related sensory deficits and individual differences in intoxication, though limitations include incomplete cerebellum data and a young, healthy sample. Overall, intoxication appears to trade long-range integration for localized processing.

via PsyPost|
#alcohol#brain-network#neuroimaging
Exercise Boosts Longevity More Than Cutting Drinking, New Study Finds
health29 days ago

Exercise Boosts Longevity More Than Cutting Drinking, New Study Finds

New data from the Norwegian HUNT study suggest improving cardiorespiratory fitness yields a bigger longevity benefit than simply reducing alcohol intake. People in the bottom 20% fitness had higher mortality risk regardless of alcohol use; those who increased or maintained fitness showed lower mortality risk even with higher alcohol consumption. Fitness benefits plateau at high levels, so sedentary individuals should prioritize getting active, while those already fit but who drink heavily should cut back. Fitness cannot fully offset cancer risk from alcohol, though it can blunt some cardiovascular risks.

via GQ|
#alcohol#fitness#health
Red Wine and Longevity: The Evidence Isn’t Clear
health1 month ago

Red Wine and Longevity: The Evidence Isn’t Clear

A HuffPost piece examines whether red wine truly boosts lifespan. It notes that while light drinking has been linked to lower cardiovascular risk and possibly better diabetes markers, the evidence is inconclusive and confounded by overall healthy lifestyle factors. The supposed antioxidant polyphenols may not offer a meaningful advantage, and all alcohol is a known carcinogen. The article emphasizes that any subtle longevity benefit, if it exists, likely comes from drinking within a healthy lifestyle (eating well, social connections, meals, and moderation) rather than wine alone, with a clear warning to keep portions small.

via HuffPost|
#alcohol#cancer-risk#cardiovascular-health
England's sober shift: a quarter of adults abstain from alcohol
health1 month ago

England's sober shift: a quarter of adults abstain from alcohol

A Health Survey for England shows 24% of adults did not drink alcohol in 2024 (up from 19% in 2022), with women more likely to abstain (26% vs 22% for men) and notable regional variation (West Midlands 27%, London 26%, northeast 17%). Among drinkers, 51% of men and 60% of women are at lower risk, while higher-risk levels are more common in men (27% vs 15% for women); older adults (65–74) are more likely to drink at risky levels (29%) than 25–34-year-olds (14%). The findings underscore ongoing alcohol-related harms and support calls for population-wide measures such as minimum unit pricing and stricter marketing controls.

via The Guardian|
#alcohol#england#health
Life-or-death gamble in Florida sparks 17 years of sobriety for a London surgeon
health1 month ago

Life-or-death gamble in Florida sparks 17 years of sobriety for a London surgeon

A London surgeon details a 22-year battle with alcohol, climaxing in a life-threatening moment during a Florida vacation that led him to vow never to drink again. He has remained sober for nearly 17 years and outlines alcohol’s wide-ranging effects on the body—heart, liver, stomach, brain, cancer risk and fertility—alongside insights from his book Why We Drink Too Much and reflections on evolving US drinking guidelines.

via Daily Mail|
#addiction#alcohol#charles-knowles
Wisconsin experts push for clear alcohol guidance after U.S. dietary guidelines drop numeric limits
health1 month ago

Wisconsin experts push for clear alcohol guidance after U.S. dietary guidelines drop numeric limits

New U.S. dietary guidelines urge Americans to consume less alcohol but drop explicit moderation limits, prompting Wisconsin public-health advocates to call for clearer serving guidance and risk information as alcohol-related liver disease and cancer rise in the state; the shift sparks discussion about warning labels and social norms, including Dry January.

via Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|
#alcohol#cancer-risk#dietary-guidelines
WHO calls for bolder health taxes on sugary drinks and alcohol
health1 month ago

WHO calls for bolder health taxes on sugary drinks and alcohol

The World Health Organization released two global reports urging governments to raise and better target taxes on sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages to reduce consumption and curb noncommunicable diseases and injuries, noting many countries tax too little or fail to adjust for inflation. The WHO also promotes the 3 by 35 initiative to raise real prices of tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks by 2035 to protect public health.

via World Health Organization (WHO)|
#alcohol#health#health-taxes