| Good morning, it's Saturday, Nov. 1, and I hope you've got enough candy to last you through the weekend. I'm back today with a question from a reader about a recent article about alcohol and dementia risk, as well as a few stories that jumped out at us this week. Answering your questions One of our readers asked: - A recent article in The 7 said that alcohol consumption contributes to dementia. Yet wouldn't that imply that France, Italy, and Germany — where a glass or bottle of wine with lunch and/or dinner is common — would have high levels of dementia? Why is that not the case?
I took that straight to the author of that article: Richard Sima, who writes the Brain Matters column for The Post's Well+Being desk. His response: "That's a great question!" From here, I'm turning it over to Richard: Why those countries famous for such drinking habits don't have high levels of dementia is a very logical question to ask but not so straightforward to answer. One possible explanation is that how people drink also matters for dementia risk, not just the total amount. While one glass of wine a day introduces some risk, binge drinking is likely disproportionately worse for our brains. Researchers theorize that repeatedly infusing our brain in alcohol and then stopping leads to "mini-withdrawals," which might be more neurotoxic — what is known as a kindling effect. But I think the main reason is that alcohol is only one risk factor for dementia. It's important to remember that there are many other known contributors, which my colleagues and I have written about, including physical inactivity, hypertension, social isolation, smoking, less education, diabetes, obesity, traumatic brain injury, air pollution and hearing loss. (Before you fall into despair over that long, still-not-comprehensive list, the good news is that an estimated 45 percent of dementia cases are preventable, and we can reduce our risk by addressing these factors! Also, risk is not the same as inevitability.) So, the prevalence of dementia found in each country is some sort of aggregate of all these different risk factors coming together, which is difficult to disentangle. The prevalence for each risk factor not only varies per country but also can change over time. For example, a 2024 paper in the Lancet found that, in the U.S. and Europe, education levels have generally increased and smoking has decreased, meaning those dementia risk factors have also grown proportionally smaller. At the same time, the prevalence of hypertension, obesity and diabetes has increased (although our ability to treat them has also improved). Studies that look at specific risk factors, such as alcohol consumption, try to account for these other known risk factors in their analyses. But those risk factors are still there. I will also add that the researchers I spoke to for the alcohol and dementia risk story were all emphatic that it's still okay to drink. (Disclosure: I enjoy a nice scotch on the rocks from time to time.) But this study provides better data to help us manage our risk on balance with whether we want to enjoy that lunchtime glass of wine. What else to know Shout out to Richard for coming through with such a detailed answer. You also can find Richard sharing his work on Bluesky, Instagram and TikTok. And thank you for the questions — keep 'em coming. If you have questions about stories you see in The 7, send them here. We'll find the right person to answer them for another weekend edition of The 7. Keep reading Each weekend, The 7 team wants to share our favorite recent Post stories with you.  | Hannah Jewell | My weekend recommendation is this story of a former British soldier who was caught up in a foreign spy network, rooting out pro-democracy dissidents from Hong Kong — with a tragic end.  | Izin Akhabau | I enjoyed this feature by Sophia Solano about Jewish grandmothers who sit outside a synagogue and give passersby life advice. They've got everything covered — from relationship trouble to job loss.  | Jamie Ross | I was heartened by this piece about Juan Naula, who quit his job to clean up Los Angeles. His time-lapse videos of picking up trash won him tens of thousands of followers. And now his posts are inspiring hundreds of people to join him.  | John Taylor | Beth Macy's latest book, "Paper Girl," hits close to home — and it may be the perfect thing for some of you to read as the holidays approach. Our review calls it a "searingly poignant, essential book" that injects "a rare note of civility into the conversation." I'll take it. Hope you enjoy the rest of Halloween weekend. In the spirit of spooky season (and this newsletter), maybe mix up a glow-in-the-dark punch. And, one more reminder: If you have a question about the news you want answered, send it here. See you Monday. | 
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Keep a civil tongue.