Dr Daniel Amen alcohol has no health benefits and why you should give up booze for good
Doctor warns there is NO amount of alcohol safe to drink after giving up booze himself: ‘It disrupts your brain function, it blows up pathways’
- Doctor says there are no benefits to drinking alcohol
- Studies have shown some positive effects of moderate drinking
- He called the studies false
A top doctor has warned how dangerous drinking alcohol, even moderately, can be to your health.
Dr. Daniel Amen, a brain specialist from California, explained that drinking alcohol in small regular doses has no health benefits, as many studies have previously suggested.
He recommends avoiding alcohol altogether, claiming that even a small amount can increase the risk of premature death and interfere with brain function.
Dr. Amen claimed that people have a misconception that drinking booze in moderate amounts can be beneficial to your health thanks to studies funded by the alcohol industry.
He even compared drinking alcohol to Stockholm Syndrome, which people love even though it “hurts” them.
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Dr. Daniel Amen (pictured), a brain specialist from California, has said drinking alcohol has no health benefits, even in moderation, and said he should stop drinking for good
“For decades, studies have suggested that moderate drinking is good for your health. Since looking at the brain for 32 years, I’m like no, it’s not,” the doctor said in a TikTok video.
‘They said it was better for your health than not drinking at all, they said non-drinkers died earlier than moderate drinkers. They lied to us.’
Dr. Amen cited a new study that looked at 107 studies from the past 40 years involving nearly 5 million participants, which he said disproved alcohol having any health benefits.
“They found that many of those studies were flawed and the opposite was true. Many of them were funded by, guess what, the alcohol industry,” he said.
“Moderate drinking increases the risk of premature death.”
Moderate drinking is defined by two standard drinks per day for women and three drinks for men, but Dr. Amen found this measurement far from moderate.
Dr. Amen claimed that people have a misconception that drinking booze in moderate amounts can be beneficial to your health thanks to studies funded by the alcohol industry
‘So what was wrong with the earlier investigations? To begin with, they compared moderate drinkers to non-drinkers, but many of those non-drinkers were former problem drinkers,” he said.
“Or it was people who stopped drinking because they had health problems.”
He said alcohol is “not a healthy diet” and has been linked to an increased risk of seven different types of cancer.
“In addition, alcohol disrupts the developmental function of the brain’s white matter — think of white matter as the brain’s highways,” he explained.
“So it’s like blowing up some of your highways.”
In another clampsaid Dr. Amen that many people’s relationship with alcohol is much like Stockholm Syndrome, a term that refers to when someone develops feelings for someone who has abused or kidnapped them.
“Alcohol kidnaps you, it haunts you, it hurts you, but you love it,” he said.
“The same goes for marijuana, it’s not good for you, but some people are attached to it… I just want you to love anything that loves you back.”
Health experts have recommended avoiding booze altogether, but said there’s little harm for those who drink very little.
According to Harvard University there have been some studies suggesting that alcohol reduces the risk of heart attack and cardiovascular disease, gallstones and type 2 diabetes.
However, the article mentions that the same results can be achieved through a healthy diet and regular exercise.