A recent Spanish study, published in the health journal Heart has shown that drinking low levels of alcohol protect the drinker from develop heart disease. However, somewhat surprising, the research also demonstrated that drinking high levels of alcohol causes a reduction in the risk of developing heart disease, espcially for male drinkers.

The authors of the study found that drinking almost 1 to almost 4 UK units of alcohol (or 5 to 30 grams of alcohol - the higher figure being the same as a large glass of wine) per day reduced the likelihood of heart disease by half. The authors also found that those drinkers who consumed 11 Uk units a day - the equivelent to a bottle of wine a day - still showed a 50% reduction in the development of heart disease.

The research also showed that these results weren't limited to red wine but rather all forms of alcohol consumption demonstraed these positive results in the reduction of heart disease.

This study goes against many health warnings from the Department of Health and the World health Organisation who have reported links between alcoholic consumption and cancer, strokes and increases of heart disease.