Study: Drinking alcohol every day accelerates aging of the brain

A new study found that drinking alcohol every day can speed up aging in the brain and suggested that every gram of alcohol can have an impact. 

The study by University of Southern California researchers looked at more than 17,000 MRI brain scans.

The results showed that for every gram of alcohol consumed, the brain aged by roughly seven and a half days.  

The average bottle of beer or small glass of wine contains 14 grams of alcohol.

Researchers noted the results supported previous findings that linked heavy alcohol consumption and negative effects on the brain.

The study also looked how tobacco played a role and found that smoking a pack a day did even more damage, aging brains by about eleven days.

"It is known that certain lifestyle habits are associated with accelerated atrophy in specific brain regions," the study said but added that genetics and environmental factors should also be considered when looking at the structural aging process of the brain.