Eat before you drink hard

Common sense could help prevent a hangover on January 1

'Tis the season to be jolly and the merriment at this time of the year includes alcohol. Mention the word alcohol and there can be a clear divide about its merits and demerits in this country where there is still an entire state that practices prohibition. Some experts feel that a drink or two does no one any harm and that, in fact, the sociable aspect of it is good for health (apart from the benefits of red wine that are well-documented). However, drinking, especially on an empty stomach, can lead to problems the next day, so do start your revelry by lining your stomach with the right food. The hottest recommendation is a glass of milk. As for food, cheese or pate on toast does the job well of keeping the stomach lining well-protected. For vegetarians, a couple of slices of toast will do just as well. The reason that milk is recommended is that it is a good source of fats and covers the inner surface of the stomach evenly.

The other positive thing about eating a bite or two before you start drinking on a night like New Year's Eve is that according to experts people drink more if they are either hungry or thirsty. Try and deal with both hunger and thirst before drinking, for though it's good to be jovial and social at a party, no one wants an ugly drunkard on their hands (and almost all drunkards are ugly).

The diet for the morning after, the first day of the new year, should ideally be celebratory, but given that most people are hung over after a night of excess, here are some useful tips to deal with a bad hangover: One of the best ways to stave off that dreaded hangover is to drink tonnes of fluid (non-alcoholic) while you are imbibing alcohol. And if you did forget to do that, do guzzle down water the next morning. Eat light, but some more experienced sufferers seem to also recommend fatty food like greasy eggs and bacon the next morning as fat is able to help overcome whatever it is that causes the hangover in the first place.

It's really simple then (and do read this before there is any alcohol in your system): have some food and non-alcoholic, non-fizzy and non-caffeniated beverage before you start and if that isn't enough, try all that over again on January 1, 2008. Happy drinking.