Before you toast to the New Year (or to ridding ourselves of the year that’s about to pass), it would be useful to consider what you should drink to celebrate the toast. In previous agebuzz posts, we’ve explored the various health concerns related to drinking alcohol, especially as you get older. Generally speaking, the professional consensus appears to be that little-to-no alcohol consumption is better than significant consumption and that the more you consume, the more likely you’ll experience a negative impact on both your brain and body. While there’s an occasional new study that suggests a positive benefit from moderate alcohol consumption, the vast majority of ongoing research studies continue to report the risks and harms from even small amounts. That’s especially worrisome given that levels of alcohol consumption seemed to rise during the pandemic and the general trend of alcohol consumption among older adults, especially women, is on an upward slope.

In a new study published in Aging and Mental Health, researchers out of King’s College London report a provocative finding: Drinking just 4 glasses of beer or wine per week can damage short-term memory and increase your risk of developing dementia during your later years. In this study, over 15,000 participants over age 50 were followed for both the quantity and frequency of their alcohol consumption over a period of two years. It seems that the “4 glass” level of consumption tipped participants into a riskier category. As one researcher stated, “None of the participants had dementia at the start of the study but those who drank at riskier levels were more likely to show cognitive decline, which is likely to progress to dementia.”

Another recent study out of Germany, and published in PLOS Medicine, looked at moderate alcohol consumption from the opposite perspective: that is, could moderate alcohol consumption be more beneficial than none at all? While some previous studies suggest moderate consumption may actually be better for your health than no alcohol consumption, this new German study debunks that myth. It found that those who consume no alcohol are not at risk for a lower life expectancy than those who consume moderate amounts of alcohol. So if you’re worried that by not drinking you may be missing out on some health benefits, the evidence seems to underscore that’s not true. Alcohol abstinence is not detrimental to your health or life expectancy.

In fact, one additional reason for abstaining comes from the growing body of research connecting alcohol consumption and cancer. A new study out of Toronto and published in Lancet Oncology found an association between alcohol consumption and a substantially higher risk of breast, colon, and oral cancers, among others, and that this risk was evident even among light to moderate drinkers. In fact, you may not know this but alcohol is considered a carcinogen, akin to substances like asbestos or formaldehyde. 

Overall, the mounting evidence continues to support limiting if not outright eliminating alcohol from your regular dietary pattern. While you may want to toast in the new year with a glass of champagne, consider a new year’s resolution that steers you away from significant alcohol consumption. To help shore up your resolve and make the case for yourself and your loved ones, pour a glass of sparkling (non-alcoholic) cider and read here.