Hangover on the morning after a wild night of heavy drinking is very painful. Well, scientists have just revealed that they’ve discovered a cure that is 100% effective at preventing hangovers. The only way to avoid a pounding head and queasiness is to drink in moderation, or to stay away from alcohol entirely, scientists have concluded.

Hangover cures – whether it be drinking coffee, downing a fizzy drink, or tucking into a fry-up are pretty much a waste of time and effort. It turns out that the only way to beat a hangover is by not drinking.

Scientists in Holland took a group of 826 Dutch students and asked them about their drinking habits. They found that eating after drinking didn’t have any effect on the strength of the hangover and that drinking water afterwards didn’t really do anything either.

Lead scientist Dr Joris Verster, from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, said: From what we know from the surveys so far, the only practical way to avoid a hangover is to drink less alcohol. “Those who took food or water showed a slight statistical improvement in how they felt over those who didn’t, but this didn’t really translate into a meaningful difference.”

Researchers concluded that even seasoned drinkers who consider themselves immune to hangovers are simply deluding themselves. The scientists calculated the blood alcohol levels of a group of 789 Canadian students who were questioned about their drinking in the previous month and found that four fifths (79 per cent) of those who claimed not to experience hangovers had actually drunk less than they thought.

“In general, we found a pretty straight relationship; the more you drink, the more likely you are to get a hangover. The majority of those who in fact reported never having a hangover tended to drink less – perhaps less than they themselves thought would lead to a hangover.”

The results of the study were presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s annual meeting in Amsterdam. Commenting on the research, psychologist Dr Michael Bloomfield, from University College London, said: “Throughout the world the economic and social costs of alcohol abuse run into hundreds of billions of euros per year. It’s therefore very important to answer simple questions like ‘how do you avoid a hangover?’ Whilst further research is needed, this new research tells us that the answer is simple – ‘drink less’.”