Dec 30, 2013 09:04 AM EST By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Here is a new excuse to gulp down another glass of wine this New Year's. It strengthens the immune system.

A latest study by Oregon Health & Science University states that drinking moderate amount of alcohol can be beneficial for the immune system.

For decades, several health experts have warned about harmful effects of alcohol on health. But this study published in the Dec. 17 issue of journal 'Vaccine' found the positive effects of drinking.

For the study, researchers vaccinated monkeys against smallpox and divided them into two groups. First group had access to 4 percent ethanol and second group were given sugar water. They were observed for 14 months. (All animals were given water and food). Some monkeys consumed more amount of ethanol than the others.

Note that the monkeys' response to the vaccine before being divided was same. They again vaccinated the monkeys from both the groups after seven months.

The study results showed that monkeys who heavily consumed liquor hardly responded to the vaccine than those on sugar water. But, the monkeys who drank moderately responded well to the vaccines than the monkeys on sugar water.

"It seems that some of the benefits that we know of from moderate drinking might be related in some way to our immune system being boosted by that alcohol consumption," Kathy Grant, Ph.D., co-autho on the paper, a professor of behavioral neuroscience at OHSU and a senior scientist at the ONPRC said in a press release.

"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," lead author  Ilhem Messaoudi said. "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."

The researchers said that further study is needed to understand why the immune system reacts positively to moderate alcohol use.

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