Steve,
You are a star.
Also found these this morning:
BEER
ABV: 3.5 to 5 per cent
Calories: 170 per pint
In limited amounts, it may have some nutritional benefit. Researchers at King's College London found that a glass of beer a day is one of the best ways to ensure strong and healthy bones because it is one of the richest sources of the mineral silicon.
It is also a good source of the B vitamin folate: adults need 200mcg a day, though women of child-bearing age need 400mcg. A pint of beer provides 68mcg. Beer also contains boron, another trace mineral needed to maintain healthy bones. And a pint supplies a tenth of the recommended daily allowance of niacin, which is needed to help release energy from food.
The concept of a 'beer belly' is in some ways a misnomer. While beer contains plenty of calories, it is the fact that it is an appetite stimulant ? increasing the desire to eat - which really piles on the pounds. And beer also contains purines, which increase the level of uric acid in the joints, leading to gout.
GUINNESS
ABV: 3.5 per cent
Calories: 170 per pint
It was once promoted as a healthy form of alcohol and given to patients after operations, pregnant women and blood donors because it was thought to be high in iron and so prevent anaemia.
However, Guinness contains only 1.1mg of iron per pint: the recommended daily allowance for women is 14mg, with 8.7mg for men. A better source of iron is lean red meat.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that a daily pint of Guinness with a meal reduced heart clots and reduced the risk of cardiac attacks. This is because it contains antioxidants - similar to those found in fruit and vegetables - which slow down the deposit of cholesterol on the artery walls.
WHITE WINE
ABV: 12 per cent
Calories: 93 per 125ml glass
As it lacks congeners - chemicals produced during fermentation, which give drinks their flavour and colour - white wine is less likely than red to cause a hangover.
When drunk moderately (no more than three small glasses a day), scientists at the University of Buffalo believe it may help keep lungs healthy. It contains antioxidants that stop the creation of harmful molecules which can damage lung tissues.
White wine makes your stomach secrete more acid than normal, irritating the lining and inflaming the digestive tract, which can lead to nausea.
It's also thought that sulphur dioxide - used to preserve the grapes - can trigger asthma. The sweeter the wine, the higher the sulphur dioxide content.
RED WINE
ABV: 10 to 15 per cent
Calories: 85 per 125ml glass
When consumed in moderation, red wine is the best alcohol for your health, says scientist Rebecca Foster of the British Nutrition Foundation.
Wine - white or red - contains small amounts of minerals and B vitamins (though less than beer). However, compared with white wine, red contains more potassium, iron and antioxidants called phenolics, which may be protective against coronary heart disease by preventing clogging of the arteries.
A glass or two of red wine a day may also guard against adult onset diabetes, stroke and Alzheimer's disease. Drinking red wine may help us get to sleep more easily, according to research from the University of Milan.
Grape skins - which are removed when making white wine - contain melatonin, a hormone that keeps our body clocks in check and induces sleep.
But red wine will give you a worse hangover than white because, like other dark-coloured drinks, it contains congeners. They are thought to constrict blood vessels in the brain, causing headaches and nausea.
GIN
ABV: 37.5 per cent
Calories: 55 per 25ml shot
It's often referred to as Mother's Ruin, but there is no scientific basis for the belief that gin makes you feel unhappy.
It may make you pass water quicker than other alcoholic drinks, since the juniper berries it contains have a diuretic effect - this can aggravate the dehydration caused by any alcohol intake.
Like all clear spirits, it is preservative free, and so free of chemicals that can induce a hangover. However, drinking it in excess will make you feel ill. Mixer drinks increase calorie intake, but will slow down absorption of alcohol.
WHISKY
ABV: 40 per cent Calories: 55 per shot
Like red wine, whisky contains plant compounds which are thought to protect the body from molecules that could harm healthy cells. These come from the oak barrels in which whisky is stored during maturation.
A study in the British Medical Journal found that in small doses it could help protect against heart disease. It has also been shown to reduce the likelihood of strokes and cataracts.
Last year, a scientific conference in Glasgow heard that single malt whisky could help fight cancer. This is because it contains ellagic acid, which can absorb rogue cells in the body. Ellagic acid is also found in soft fruit.
Single malt has more congeners than blended Scotch, so it can give you a worse hangover.
VODKA
ABV: 40 per cent Calories: 55 per 25ml shot
The purest of all alcohol - it is distilled so well that no yeast remains, so you can drink it if on a yeast-free diet.
Vodka is also the least likely of all alcoholic drinks to give you a hangover, as it is free of preservatives, congeners and colouring.
One scientific analysis found vodka had only a tiny amount of the toxic alcohol methanol, so is less likely to cause the unpleasant after-affects of drinking too much
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