Alcohol accelerates aging: scientists reveal details of the process Researchers claim that drinking too much alcohol accelerates aging, according to the Daily Mail.

Experts studied data from nearly 250,000 Britons and found that those who drank more than 17 units of alcohol per week had shorter telomeres.. A unit of alcohol is 10 grams of pure alcohol, or approximately 100 ml of wine..

What are telomeres Telomeres are biological caps at the ends of chromosomes that protect the DNA they contain from damage, much like aglets (plastic or iron caps at the ends of shoelaces) prevent them from fraying.. Telomeres naturally shorten with age, which leads to DNA damage and increases the risk of diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes and heart disease..

Now scientists have found that drinking alcohol can also shorten telomeres, increasing a person's biological age by six years..

How Much Alcohol Can You Drink Relatively Safe Telomere shortening was only seen in those who drank at least 17 units of alcohol per week, three units more than the NHS recommends. The study participants were roughly evenly divided by gender, and their average age was 57 years.. Most of them currently drink, and only 3 percent have never drunk alcohol..

Analyzing the data, the researchers found a link between high alcohol consumption and shorter telomeres.. For example, those who drank 29 units of alcohol per week (about 10 large glasses of wine) were one to two years older in telomere length than those who drank less than six units per week (about two large glasses of wine).

The heavy drinkers in the study had significantly shorter telomeres than the control group, equivalent to three to six years of biological aging..

The good news for drinkers, however, is that researchers only found an association between shortened telomeres and alcohol consumption in people who drank more than 17 units per week, the equivalent of just over five glasses of wine..

This suggests that those who drink less than this amount will not have the risk of drinking-related telomere shortening.. In addition, the dose of alcohol is important - even reducing alcohol consumption can be beneficial..

Exactly how alcohol can shorten telomeres is unknown, but researchers suggest it may be due to increased oxidative stress and inflammation, which can damage DNA when the body processes alcohol..

Scientists do not hide that this study does not prove a causal relationship, but they make reasoned arguments about a likely biological mechanism.. They insist there is a growing body of scientific evidence showing exactly how alcohol causes so many diseases and so many early deaths..

The National Health Service recommends that adults drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week - that's about one and a half bottles of wine..

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