The answer to the age-old question of ‘how many drinks is really too many’ is anything more than five large glasses of wine, according to scientists from the University of Oxford.
In the short term, a handful of pints of beer an evening is known to make itself felt the next day, but scientists have never before looked at how alcohol affects our long-term ageing process.
Oxford academics have now found out the limit is 17 units, or roughly five large glasses of wine or five pints of lager a week. Any more than this and it starts to take its toll on our DNA, affecting the caps on the end of our chromosomes called telomeres.
Damage to these areas has previously been linked to Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease. People with healthier, longer telomeres are also thought to have longer lifespans.
Data from almost half a million people enrolled in the UK Biobank was used. The team looked for tell-tale genetic markers which show how much alcohol a person drinks. Their telomere length was measured in a laboratory after taking DNA from a swab.
The scientists found that a small amount of alcohol does not affect our DNA, but beyond the 17-unit threshold this changes and our telomeres come under attack.
The top 40 per cent of drinkers – who consumed more than 17 units of alcohol a week – were found to have some telomere shrinkage caused by alcohol consumption. However, the remaining 60 per cent of people, who drink less than 17 units a week, were found to be genetically undamaged.
Someone who drinks 32 units per week, or about 10 large glasses of 13 per cent ABV wine, is biologically three years older than someone on ten units a week (roughly three large glasses of wine), for example.
So, now you know!