• Question: Does drinking damage our brain cells?

    Asked by lilsimmo to Damien, Rachael, Simon, Suzi, Tim on 17 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by ruthenium.
    • Photo: Suzi Gage

      Suzi Gage answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Hi @lilsimmo
      Great question – it’s often said that drinking will destroy your brain cells, but this probably isn’t true.
      However, drinking can lead to serious brain problems, including brain shrinkage.

      There is good news though, if you stop drinking, your brain can recover. This suggests that brain cells aren’t actually destroyed, it may be chemical levels in the brain that change, leading to negative effects, and when you stop drinking these can readjust and return to normal.

      There’s more information about it here:

      http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa63/aa63.htm

      Hope this helps 🙂

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