If you want to keep your heart ticking, get ready to get your drink on - especially you men reading this.

A new study out of Spain not only confirms that alcohol helps protect the heart, but that you can get these benefits whether you drink a lot or a little.

We should pay attention to this one. The Spanish are world- class lovers of booze - especially wine. But in addition to their high per-capital alcohol consumption, Spaniards also boast one of the industrialized world's lowest rates of heart-related death.

And now we may know why - because researchers found that drinking the amount of alcohol you'd find in a large glass of wine every day reduced the risk of developing heart disease in men by 50 percent. And while the benefits didn't increase along with the amount of booze - they didn't decrease either.

In fact, the study published in the journal Heart found you could get the same protective benefit found in that single glass by drinking the equivalent of an entire bottle of wine every day.

They also found that the benefits applied to any kind of booze - not just red wine, which tends to steal the limelight when it comes to alcohol and heart benefits. So whether you like beer, gin, vodka, mead or merlot, drink up.

Just remember that you don't NEED that much to get the benefit. It's just that an extra glass won't hurt you either (unless you're dumb enough to drive yourself home right afterward).

Critics are already griping that the study is going to encourage irresponsible drinking… but don't let that spoil your good times and good health.

Just use your brain as you protect your heart.

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