Fantastic news for festive fizz lovers as research shows that your Christmas tipple is actually good for you.

The University of Reading has done a study to see the effects of champagne on your heart and circulation, and the results are in.

The researchers have found that drinking champagne daily in moderate amounts causes improvements in the way blood vessels function.

Champagne does this by increasing the availability of nitric oxide, a vascular active molecule which controls blood pressure.

Dr Jeremy Spencer, from the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, said: "Our research has shown that drinking around two glasses of champagne can have beneficial effects on the way blood vessels function, in a similar way to that observed with red wine.”

This could therefore reduce the risks of suffering from cardiovascular disease and stroke, but more research needs to be done to determine the long term effects of daily champagne consumption.