Posted on 09/10/2020 6:38:03 AM PDT by Red Badger
Alcoholism can cause several types of reversible dementia.
One is an acute thiamine deficiency that is treated by taking sulbutiamine, which is a type of thiamine that can cross the blood-brain barrier.
Another is build up of ammonia in the blood and brain. There are many treatments for this, mostly related to reducing the production of ammonia in the intestines by bad bacteria. A good probiotic like Mutaflor might be the easiest solution. The most common remedy is lactulose, which is also a laxative.
If you know someone with dementia, it might be reversible. Do not assume that it is Alzheimer’s.
Sad , God’s grace to you.
“Heavy daily drinking ( ~ 1.5 ouncess of ethyl alcohol or greater/day) “
Isn’t that about 2 drinks a day? How is that “heavy drinking”? That’s not even enough to get more than a light buzz, because your liver can metabolize that much in a couple hours.
2 drinks a day is not “heavy drinking”. It’s a MADD statistic.
Try a fifth of vodka (or more) a day.
Aw come on man!
Whiskey, vodka and other “spirits” are generally 80 proof or ~40% alcohol. A 1 ounce “shot” or “drink” is .4 ounces of ethyl alcohol. Four drinks a day are the equivalent of 2 ounces of ethyl alcohol and is considered heavy drinking. Same principle applies to wine and beer (wine generally 12% alcohol and most beer ~ 4-5% alcohol.. You have to measure what you drink. Heavy is bad and takes its toll. Bad on the liver and brain and can also be associated with many cancers.
Your math is a little off, because a shot everywhere in the civilized world is 1.5 oz, not 1 oz. So 40% alcohol by volume x 1.5 oz = 0.6 oz of alcohol per drink, so 1.5 oz of alcohol per day is 2 and 1/2 half drinks a day, not 4 drinks a day.
4 drinks a day (unless you are chugging them in quick succession) is still probably not “heavy drinking” but at least it’s in the ballpark. 2 and 1/2 drinks a day is not.
2 drinks a day is a ridiculous standard for heaving drinking. Most adults can metabolize one drink an hour so technically you could drink a beer every hour of the day and never get intoxicated. Of course, there are other factors involved and everybody's different. And I wouldn't recommend having a drink an hour on an empty stomach either.
Winston Churchill and John Adams are examples of "so-called" heavy drinkers (by today's standards) who both lived to be 90 with no dementia.
Thanks .
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