Most people have heard that drinking too much alcohol can kill nerve cells in the brain.
Nerve damage can occur from a lifetime of overdrinking or even from a single drunken binge.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia now report that one of the B vitamins helps to protect brain cells against alcohol's toxic effects. A study of alcoholics undergoing detoxification treatment found that plenty of vitamin B1 protected against alcohol-induced memory loss, according to the Melbourne paper The Age . Lead researcher Maggie Ambrose says that adding vitamin B1 to alcoholic drinks offers a simple and inexpensive way to reduce alcohol-related brain injury. A previous HealthScout story notes that vitamins B6 and B12 also help memory and thinking ability. If you take vitamin supplements, however, be careful not to take too much vitamin B6, also called pyridoxine.