Wine is Wreaking Havoc on Your Brain…More than Beer

I always thought I was the health smarty pants throughout college when I would opt out of the calorie-heavy beer for the “healthier” wine option. Beyond just watching out for calories, I always figured that any form of wine was somehow better for me than good old Bud Light.

Now, I have recently found out that I may have been dead wrong. Apparently, wine is worse for your brain than beer is. It affects one of the most important parts, the hippocampus, which is responsible for things like memory and spatial awareness. According to researchers, wine had the most drastic effect on the brain compared to all other types of alcoholic beverages.

The statistics are staggering and have caused me to think twice about drinking in general…

According to the Daily Mail in UK, the psychiatrists behind the study compared brain scans from diagnosed alcoholics with those from healthy adults. They found the hippocampus, which is located deep within the brain’s temporal lobes, was up to 10 per cent smaller in those who drank.

The study compared brain scans from diagnosed alcoholics with those from healthy adults. In non-alcoholics the hippocampus was 3.85ml. In beer drinkers it was 3.4ml, in spirit drinkers 2.9ml and for wine drinkers it was the smallest, just 2.8ml.

That may seem like a slight difference, but to me, the fact that a part of my brain may be up to one ml smaller purely because I drink alcohol is a bit scary. Not to mention the fact that I definitely prefer wine over beer, which puts me at the absolute bottom of the statistics.

Maybe now is the time to consider that much needed alcohol break for more reasons than just to avoid the calories…