This one is well documented.

I can look at a brain of an alcoholic/drug user and immediately tell from the decreased cortical volume.

I have been drinking black coffee (no sugar or cream) for the last 25 years. 5-6 cups a day. Yes... I am addicted to coffee.

Alcohol Intake Tied to Elevated Blood Pressure

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

Alcohol intake appears to have detrimental effects on blood pressure, particularly among men, according to two reports in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

In the first, a meta-analysis comprising over 360,000 adults and 90,000 new cases of hypertension, researchers observe that men who averaged 1-2 drinks daily had increased risk for hypertension relative to nondrinkers (relative risk, 1.2), with risk increasing as alcohol intake increased. Among women, hypertension risk began to increase at 3 or more drinks per day.

The second study included 4700 adults aged 18-45 who answered survey questions about binge-drinking. Roughly 25% of men and 12% of women reported binge-drinking more than 12 times in the past year, and 29% of men and 25% of women reported doing so 1-12 times. After multivariable adjustment, men who binge-drank had higher systolic BP than non-binge-drinkers, and those who binge-drank more than 12 times/year had higher systolic BP than those who binge-drank less (122 vs. 119 mm Hg). This association was not observed among women.

An editorialist writes, "An individual's decision to drink, and at what level, should be motivated by their own personal circumstances. ... Ultimately, our job boils down to empowering an individual to make an informed decision about their level of alcohol intake and how this may influence their long- and short-term health."

https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/08/23/hea...udy/index.html

Alcohol was the leading risk factor for disease and premature death in men and women between the ages of 15 and 49 worldwide in 2016, accounting for nearly one in 10 deaths, according to the study, published Thursday in the journal The Lancet.

For all ages, alcohol was associated with 2.8 million deaths that year.

Those deaths include alcohol-related cancer and cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, intentional injury such as violence and self-harm, and traffic accidents and other unintentional injuries such as drowning and fires.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be lying in a hospital bed at 95 dying of nothing.

Yeah, that is much worst than lying in a nursing home with a feeding tube and developing a painful sore down to the bone because half your body is dead weight....

Jesus. Well that took a dark turn... Can we just agree that getting old sucks and dying isn't a pleasant thought for most of us?

I recently slowed down my drinking to almost nothing. I feel great. But I'm also not doing it to avoid a painful death or something like that. I chose to stop because I wanted a more fulfilling and well rounded life.

Bottom line is that when your number is up, your ticket off this planet will be punched. If you spend all your time running away from Father Time and hiding from dangers, you may not be able to enjoy life to the fullest.

Everything in moderation. Including moderation itself right?

Growing old can be painful no doubt...but growing old with GOOD QUALITY OF LIFE is the ultimate goal...holy grail for me. Growing old in a nursing home because you’re demented or because of stroke or heart issue is what most of us want to avoid.

Unfortunately, in my profession, the latter is much more common than the former...and it is often due to poor choices made in life.

I do not think that avoiding alcohol is “running away from Father Time or avoiding getting your ticket punch”...rather it is so that i can ENJOY my later years in good health BEFORE my ticket is punch.

Unfortunately, even moderation of alcohol is harmful. Sorry, of course, it is your life...i am not here to change it...just providing public information for this forum.

I don't drink, but I would try a glass of wine a day over Diet Coke!......I think that is the most evil liquid foisted on the masses ever!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddi.../#7281354e671f

“Alcohol is a potent diuretic that causes the body to lose a lot*of liquid, up to four times what’s*consumed while drinking, leading to dehydration. To compensate, organs draw in as much fluid as they can, leaving the brain fighting to stay hydrated. As a result, the brain dura—the membrane that encases the brain and spinal cord—actually shrinks.

As all of this fluid is leaving our bodies, magnesium, potassium, sodium and other nutrients necessary for stable cognitive functioning are flushing out as well. Those nutrients aren’t immediately replaced once the alcohol is gone, nor do the depleted membranes instantly bounce back. Recovery from the ethanol siege takes time.”

I had my first drink (vodka) at 12-13yo. Have been drinking since than. Get drunk twice a week every week and 6 beers every day. Right now if I finish 1L vodka with a friend, not even drunk.
I only drink water, tea and coffee (once a day), no juices, coke or anything like that, don't smoke or do drugs, workout and eat healthy.
I have no health conditions and rarely get sick. Self taught in IT and was working for a telecom company as a network support engineer until last month. Decided to change my career path.

I think alcohol alone has nothing to do with your brain or health. Or maybe I'm just lucky.

Hey, as long as you have good health insurance, the medical profession is happy to help if things get bad....

Remember, at least with alcohol, the permanent damage is seen later in life.... (The early deaths from alcohol is mostly from doing something stupid while intoxicated.)

And as I have said in past, we don’t live in a vacuum...if we have poor health, it impacts more than just us...it impacts everyone around us that we love.

Maybe you have good genes...or that you have not been diagnosed with something...just like George Burns and cigars...never developed lung cancer or even COPD/emphysema or heart disease/stroke...but does that mean that tobacco/nicotine is not linked to those conditions?

I don't even have a health insurance. Recently was at a doctor for a general routine check-up. 0 issues.

Yes, I am keeping in mind that I might have issues later on. My father was a drunk most of his life, smokes and does not have a healthy life in general. He has lots of health issues but non of them are connected with unhealthy lifestyle. He worked all his life at all kinds of construction jobs, thus got trouble with his back/spine and legs.

It might be genes, as I am from Belarus (former USSR).

You are lucky
I watched what I ate. I went to the gym, ran 25-30 miles a week. My annual check up came back and I got high "bad" cholesterol .

Bad genes. Genetics suck.

And LDL (bad) cholesterol is what causes heart attack and stroke.