Everyone ages at a different rate, so as you age you need to regularly reassess your drinking and how it affects you.

Unfortunately, your body's ability to process alcohol decreases with age. This is because your body's water content decreases, which means there's a higher concentration of alcohol in your blood.

Drinking might also make you unsteady on your feet; and if you fall, you're more likely to have a serious injury, such as broken bones.

In addition, if you're taking medication it could be harmful if you combine it with alcohol. Or, alcohol could reduce the effectiveness of the medication.

Evidence does suggest that a small amount of alcohol - just one or two units a day - may help with your cholesterol and can help reduce development of coronary heart disease in men over 40 and in postmenopausal women.

Of course, having a daily drink isn't the only way to improve your health - you can get similar benefits by giving up smoking, taking regular exercise, and improving your diet.