It's an excuse to break out another bottle of bubbly – for enjoying a daily glass or two of wine or beer over the festive period might slash your chances of dementia, a major study shows.

Researchers found that light to moderate alcohol intake cuts the risk of the disease by more than a third, compared with being teetotal.

They discovered that booze had benefits whether it was drunk on its own, or with meals. And the type of alcohol consumed made little or no difference.

The findings contradict some earlier studies which hinted any alcohol intake could heighten the risk of getting dementia – already the UK's biggest killer, ahead of heart disease and cancer.

Nearly one million people in the UK have the incurable illness and it claims the lives of around 75,000 every year.

Numerous studies have looked at alcohol's impact on dementia risk. Some have found drinking small amounts on a regular basis may be protective but others showed no such benefit.

A major study by scientists at Oxford University earlier this year ruled there was no positive effect on the brain.

But the latest probe, by a team of experts from Soochow University in China, suggests a daily tipple may lower the risk by up to 35 per cent.

They tracked nearly 300,000 people who had signed up to UK Biobank, a database of health information on thousands of British people first set up nearly 20 years ago.

Researchers documented drinking patterns and matched them up with dementia diagnoses.

The findings, published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, found men and women drinking a couple of pints of beer or two to three small glasses of wine a day were significantly less likely to later suffer dementia than those who rarely or never touched alcohol.

Heavy drinking – classed as more than three pints of strong beer or three large glasses of wine daily – seemed to have no impact on risk.

Researchers acknowledged that one explanation for the positive findings may be that many men and women who are now teetotal are former heavy drinkers – and therefore at greater risk even though may have quit boozing.

But they said it's also possible that low levels of alcohol shield the brain against some of the damage that paves the way for dementia.

This includes depression, a major risk for the condition in the elderly, and even age-related decline in brain volume.

In a report researchers said: 'Our findings have certain public health implications.

'Low-to-moderate drinking might be considered as a potential part of dementia prevention plans in those who don't have liver disease or a risk of alcohol dependence.'