JUST one boozy drink a day could up your risk of dying young by a fifth, experts have warned.

And they gone so far as to suggest, when it comes to booze, the only safe thing to do is go teetotal.

Enjoying one or two pints, four times a week, is bad for you, new findings suggest.

And scientists warned the idea that a daily tipple could have health benefits, should be discounted.

While it might help protect against heart attacks and strokes, the potential benefit is outweighed by the risks.

Dr Sarah Hartz, assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University, said light to moderate boozing increases your risk of cancer - and as a result, early death.

"Consuming one or two drinks about four times a week seemed to protect against cardiovascular disease," she said.

"But drinking every day eliminated those benefits.

"With regard to cancer risk, any drinking at all was detrimental."

Dr Hartz and her team looked at 400,000 people aged 18 to 85 as part of their study.

They found people who drank one or two drinks, four or more times a week - which is within the current NHS guidelines - were 20 per cent more likely to die early.

That was compared to people who drank three or fewer a week.

Dr Hartz said the findings suggest the only safe option when it comes to booze, is going teetotal.

"It used to seem like having one or two drinks a day was no big deal, and there even have been some studies suggesting it can improve health," she added.

"But now we know that even the lightest daily drinkers have an increased mortality risk."

The NHS guidelines suggest that men and women should drink no more than 14 units of booze a week.

That equates to six pints of 4 per cent beer, or six medium glasses of wine.

But, Dr Hartz said that is too much.

"A 20 per cent increase in risk of death is a much bigger deal in older people who are already at higher risk," she warned.

"Relatively few people die in their 20s, so a 20 per cent increase in mortality is small but still significant.

"As people age, their risk of death from any cause also increases, so a 20 per cent increase at age 75 translates into many more deaths than it does at age 25."

The study, published in The Lancet, found one drink a day increases a person's risk of developing one of 23 alcohol-related health problems by 0.5 per cent - compared to no drinking at all.

That rose to seven per cent for people boozing two drinks a day.

And it soared to 37 per cent for those who down five drinks a day.

Dr Hartz's team found any protection against heart disease, stroke and diabetes, turned out to be "not statistically significant".

Their findings showed one in three people across the world drinks booze - that's 2.4billion drinkers.

Every year 2.2 per cent of women and 6.8 per cent of men die from booze-related health problems, including cancer, TB and liver disease.