If you’re looking to reduce your risk of dementia later in life, cutting back on alcohol should be your New Year’s resolution, England’s top dementia doctor has warned.

National Clinical Director for Dementia in England and Manchester University professor Alistair Burns said a large amount of studies suggested excessive drinking increases your risk of dementia later in life.

• Alcohol kills 15 Aussies a day
• Calls to lower blood alcohol limit

“It can be very easy for one glass to lead to two and then to a bottle and this can seriously increase your risk of developing dementia in later life along with many other health conditions,” Mr Burns told the English National Health Service.

“While stopping drinking altogether isn’t a reality for many people, cutting down can make a huge difference.”

“The New Year is the perfect chance for us all to consider our lifestyles and think if there is anything we can improve or change to increase our healthiness, both physical and mental.”

Current Australian guidelines advise men and women to consume no more than two standard drinks on any day to reduce their risk of alcohol related disease or injury over a lifetime.