Whether it’s toasting to a friend’s recent achievement or relaxing after a long week of work, most of us enjoy a good tipple. We’re also more than likely aware that our favourite kicking back with a cold one isn’t particularly ideal for our health – especially if you’re drinking sessions have a habit of turning into all-night benders.
But were you aware there’s an age in which it’s advised you give up the booze for good?
Your beer drinking days could be numbered (Getty Stock Images)
The idea is advocated for by American neurologist Dr Richard Restak, who shared the idea in his 2021 book The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind, which aims to untangle the mystery of how our memory works.
In the book, Dr Restak touches on the relation between alcohol and our memory, revealing that drinking into your twilight years may not be a particularly wise decision, as alcohol can alter the impact of our neurons (nerve cells).
“Alcohol is a very, very weak neurotoxin – it’s not good for nerve cells,” he writes, adding that from the age of 65, your body has less neurons than before.
“It is essential to abstain from alcohol at a stage in life where preserving neurons is crucial.”
It may be a myth that the brain begins to lose nerve cells at a rapid rate as we get older; indeed, recent studies are currently suggesting that we may only lose between ‘2 to 4 per cent’ of neurons across our lifetime. However, protecting our brains as we age is still critical.
In Dr Restak’s view, people should begin to significantly decrease their alcohol consumption around the age of 65, with the goal of cutting out drinking entirely by age 70.
Dr Richard Restak has argued people should ideally stop drinking at 65 (Getty Stock Images)
“I strongly suggest that if you are 65 years old or older, that you completely and permanently eliminate alcohol from your diet,” he writes.
Now, you may be thinking, ‘I’m already old, what damage will a couple of beers do to my body’? Well, as it turns out, a lot.
One of the main reasons Dr Restak urges people to put down the bottle is in order to minimise our risk of developing dementia.
This argument is backed up by data shared by Alzheimer’s Society, which revealed people who drank excessively were at a higher rate of developing the disease.
Dr Restak also highlighted the heightened risk of falling while intoxicated, which can cause serious injuries and even death to older people.
All good things really must come to and end, I guess.
