Large amounts of alcohol were shown to cut the risk of heart disease by half

The research conducted in Spain even showed large quantities of alcohol could be more beneficial for men, however female drinkers did not get the same benefits, perhaps because women suffer fewer heart problem than men to begin with.

The researchers, led by the Basque Public Healthy Department, placed the participants into six categories, from never having drunk to drinking more than 90g of alcohol a day. This is the equivalent of drinking about eight bottles of wine a week, or 28 pints of lager.

For those who drunk little, the risk of heart disease was reduced by 35 per cent. For those who drank anything from three shots to more than 11 shots each day, the risk worked out to be 50 per cent less.

Experts are still cautious, warning heavy drinking can increase the risk of other diseases such as cancer and liver disease, with alcohol to blame for 1.8 million deaths around the world each year.

Professor Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says, ‘The relationship between alcohol and heart disease remains controversial, while there is good evidence that moderate consumption is protective in people who are at substancial risk of heart disease – which excludes most people under the age of 40 – we also know that most people underestimate how much they drink. This paper adds to the existing literature but should not be considered as definitive.’