7 Myths About Your Brain

Myth #2: Alcohol kills brain cells
Alcohol doesn’t kill brain cells. But, here’s why you think it does: Too much booze can result in a Vitamin B deficiency, which affects your body’s ability to absorb the brain-powering nutrient, thiamine. A lack of thiamine causes temporary damage to dendrites, the message-relaying neurons that brain cells ned to function properly. This reaction accounts for slurred speech, stumbling, and ill-advised public urination. No damage is actually incurred by the brain cells themselves, and the dendrites eventually recover. So, while you might be dumber for the night, you’ll be fine in 24 hours (assuming you stop drinking).