A PINT or two a day slashes the risk of depression, a study reveals.
Moderate boozers enjoying up to 14 drinks a week faced a five per cent risk of the blues.
Teetotallers were 70 per cent more likely to struggle with low mood. And heavy boozers saw their risk raised by 80 per cent.
Dr Katalin Gemes, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, backed politician Nigel Farage’s regular pub visits, saying: “Taking part in social gatherings may explain why the risk of depression was lower.”
The study ranked moderate drinking as up to 14 units of alcohol a week.
As Swedish units have more alcohol than UK ones this is the rough equivalent of 21 units or ten pints.
Going to the pub helps people unburden themselves. The tricky bit is knowing how much — too much is bad for mental and physical health
Sir Cary Lynn Cooper, Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Manchester University
The Chief Medical Officer’s guideline is to drink no more than 14 units a week.
But experts believe moderate boozing alters feelgood chemicals such as serotonin.
Booze may also boost healthy bacteria in the gut — reducing inflammation that can trigger depression.
The study followed 5,000 adults over a decade and took into account previous depression, drinking history, income and age.
Psychologist Sir Cary Lynn Cooper agreed with the findings published in journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.
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He said: “Going to the pub helps people unburden themselves.
“The tricky bit is knowing how much — too much is bad for mental and physical health.”
England’s top doctor Prof Dame Sally Davies has warned there are no safe levels of drinking.
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