Three Daily Glasses of Alcohol Significantly Heighten Early Stroke Risk, Study Warns

The danger of alcohol for the liver

The effects of alcohol on our health no longer need to be proven. Indeed, consuming alcoholic beverages can be harmful to several parts of the body, particularly the liver.

Excessive consumption can, for example, lead to fatty liver, which is characterized by an accumulation of fats in the liver cells and which remains in the majority asymptomatic, unlike cirrhosis.

This chronic liver disease, characterized by progressive scarring of healthy liver tissue, can lead to a buildup of toxins in the body, a liver can no longer filter blood properly, and an increased risk of developing liver cancer.

Recently, American researchers discovered that excessive alcohol consumption could also damage the brain, with an increased risk of having a stroke.

Consumption becomes excessive from three glasses a day, researchers estimate.

In a study published on November 5, 2025 in the journal Neurologythe research team explains that it analyzed data from 1,600 adults, with an average age of 75, hospitalized for intracerebral hemorrhage, a type of stroke caused by bleeding inside the brain.

Among the 1,600 participants, about 7% were classified as having excessive alcohol consumption, which researchers said equated to drinking three or more drinks per day, with one drink being the equivalent of a 12-ounce beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or a 1-ounce glass of spirits.

In addition to the analyses, brain examinations were carried out, with the aim of determining the severity of the hemorrhages and detecting the presence of signs of cerebral small vessel disease, a pathology linked to aging, hypertension and dementia.

Brain hemorrhages that occurred 11 years earlier

The results obtained allowed researchers to discover that heavy alcohol consumers presented brain hemorrhages at an average age of 64 years, compared to 75 years for moderate consumers, which is equivalent to a significant difference of 11 years.

In addition, the latter presented cerebral hemorrhages on average 70% greater. They were also twice as likely to have deep bleeding in the brain and severe spread of that bleeding into spaces filled with brain fluid, called intraventricular extension, they explained in the study.

“Reducing excessive alcohol consumption may not only reduce the risk of hemorrhagic stroke, but also slow the progression of small vessel disease in the brain, which in turn may reduce the risk of recurrent stroke, cognitive decline and long-term disability.”said Dr. M. Edip Gurol of Harvard University and lead author of the study, in comments reported by Fox News.

Source: Fox News