Cheers! Drinking beer every day ‘is good for your cholesterol levels ’

Drinking a few pints here and there is actually good for you – helping to control cholesterol levels and thus helping heart health.

A study presented at the American Heart Association this week monitored 80,000 adults over six years – and found that regular, moderate drinking helped slow the decline of ‘good cholesterol’ (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL).

The best drink was beer – with one pint a day for women offering benefits, and one to two pints a day for men.

The American Heart Association recommends consuming alcohol in moderation if you already drink but cautions people to not start drinking and consult your doctor on your risks and benefits of consuming alcohol in moderation.

There weren’t enough wine drinkers in the study group of Chinese drinkers to test wine’s effects on HDL, researchers said.

Further studies are needed to determine if this effect is observed in other populations, such as a U.S. population, and whether there are significant and clinically-relevant outcomes based on the type of alcohol consumed.