Cheerio common cold: Moderate consumption of alcohol may actually improve your immune system (Picture: Getty/raduga21)

Experiencing chronic sneezing, an irritated throat, and a pounding headache? Well alcohol may actually solve – and not aggravate – your problem, a study has found.

Moderate consumption of booze has long been thought to reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, but researchers at Oregon Health and Science University have now also found a link with the immune system and the fight against infection.

Scientists made four per cent ethanol alcohol available and attractive to 12 rhesus macaque monkeys – which they say have an immune system similar to humans.

The ‘drinking’ monkeys were compared with a control group which had only sugar water and after a 14-month period the ones consuming alcohol had naturally divided themselves into ‘heavy’ and ‘moderate’ drinkers.




Prior to the study starting, the monkeys were vaccinated against small pox with a second vaccination seven months in.

Rhesus macaques have an immune system close to humans, scientists say (Picture: Getty/Faabi)

While the heavy drinkers displayed a greatly reduced response to the second vaccine, it was the moderate drinkers that came out on top – even ahead of those consuming sugar water.

Moderate drinking appeared to have improved the monkeys’ immune systems, the researchers claim, in the study which was published in journal Vaccine.

‘If you have a family history of alcohol abuse, or are at risk, or have been an abuser in the past, we are not recommending you go out and drink to improve your immune system,’ said Ilhem Messaoudi, lead author of the paper.

‘But for the average person who has, say, a glass of wine with dinner, it does seem in general to improve health and cardiovascular function. And now we can add the immune system to that list.’

Moderate drinking is considered to comprise of one and six units of alcohol per day. Three units is a 175ml glass of wine or a pint and a half of four per cent beer.