Just ONE pint a day ‘poisons your brain and increases your risk of dementia’

ONE pint of lager a day could poison the brain and increase the risk of dementia.

Experts want the Government to advise people to limit drinking to one unit of alcohol a day - less than a pint of beer or glass of wine.

But critics have branded their suggestion "absolutely bonkers".

The study of more than 13,000 boozers, led by Oxford academics, published in the Journal of Public Health last week warned that tiny tipples could result in long-term health problems.

It claimed drinking more than one unit a day "may have an adverse cognitive impact" and said UK Department of Health guidance "should be sensitive to this".

The researchers found 10g of alcohol daily was a "more appropriate upper limit to preserve cognitive performance", than the current 16g guideline.

Professor Simon Moore, who worked on the project, said: "If you are looking to buy a second hand car you will want to know as much about it as possible before making your purchase.

"The same should be true for alcohol.

"We cannot hide the fact evidence is accumulating showing that it does a lot more damage to health than we previously thought.

"If people want a happy future, they need to know the facts about alcohol before deciding how much to drink."

Critics say the health guidelines are unnecessary and further evidence of a nanny state.

But campaigners insist that changes are needed to help combat dementia and alcohol-related health problems.

Tory MP Nigel Evans, president of the all-party parliamentary beer group, said the study sounded "absolutely bonkers".

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"You see people who live into their hundreds and they put it down to the fact that they have a whiskey every day," he added.

";Most people will put down to genes and that you would have to be susceptible to those conditions before it became a problem.

"For the vast majority of people actually I think a few pints is good for you.

"If you start dictating how much you can drink and how much you can eat instead of giving general guidance that everything in moderation is ok then we will have a problem.

"I think more people are likely to die of stress worrying about drinking rather than getting on with it and working out what is right for them."

Previous research has suggested that teetotallers are more at risk of reduced brain function than light and moderate drinkers over the long term.

The study was published as Public Health England (PHE) urged fast-food chains and supermarkets to introduce a "calorie cap" on meals in a bid to beat the UK's obesity crisis.

PHE said high street outlets should limit lunches and dinners to 600 calories and breakfast to 400 as part of a national diet plan due to be published in March.

Alcohol Research UK and the Medical Research Council, who partly funded the study, have been contacted for comment.