Just a couple of beers, or glasses of wine, a day maybe enough to damage your brain, according to new research published in the British Medical Journal. The study suggests that even moderate drinking of 14 - 21 units a week could adversely affect the brain, impairing memory and cognitive capabilities, for people over 30 years. Researchers from the University of Oxford and University College London, used data on weekly alcohol consumption and cognitive performance measured repeatedly from 1985 to 2015 for 550 men and women with an average of age of 43 — referred to as a longitudinal study. After adjusting for factors (called confounding), such as age, sex, education, social class, physical and social activity, smoking, stroke risk and medical history, that could have influenced the results, they found that higher alcohol consumption over the 30 year period of the study was associated with increased risk from brain damage that affects memory and spatial navigation. To find out more go to Moderate alcohol consumption as risk factor for adverse brain outcomes and cognitive decline: longitudinal cohort study.