Your liver might be crying murder after the weekend's revelry and beer guzzling at the Hong Kong Sevens.
Binge drinking certainly has negative effects on health, but recent research has shown that moderate and regular drinking of beer can actually match wine for its positive effects on cardiovascular health.
The study, published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, pooled scientific studies conducted worldwide involving more than 200,000 people.
Results confirmed what was already known about wine: a moderate consumption (about two glasses a day for men and one for women) can lower the risk of heart disease, up to 31 per cent lower compared with non-drinkers.
Beer was a surprise: drinking slightly more than a British pint a day (586ml) of a beer containing 5 per cent alcohol offers maximum protection against cardiovascular disease.
The study authors - from the John Paul II Foundation for Research and Treatment in Campobasso, Italy - warn that this finding cannot apply to everybody. For example, in young women still of fertile age, alcohol can slightly raise the risk for some kinds of cancers, acting as a counterbalance to the positive effect on heart disease.
