With party season upon us there are plenty of things to think about - what to wear, secret Santa gifts, menu options - and how you're going to feel the next day.
Having a hangover is the worst part of any good night out, and most of us have a tried and tested remedy - or else just lie in bed and call in sick.
Now scientists have come up with what they say is the ultimate hangover cure - a combination of ingredients designed to counteract the damage done by alcohol and the symptoms of too much drinking.
According to Dr Shraddha Srinivasan and colleagues at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, a drink made of coconut water, pear and lime will do the trick.
They say the tasty breakfast drink will boost two key enzymes which break down alcohol in the body.
To be precise, the drink should be 65 per cent pear juice, a quarter lime juice and 10 per cent coconut water.
You can boost the healing effect by eating cheese, tomato and cucumber at the same time.
The study also found that a staple hangover cure for many - coffee - can make things much worse.
The study says: "A beverage made from a blend of sweet lime, pear, and coconut water could be used to overcome hangover.
"The consumption of this beverage with cheese, cucumber, and tomatoes may further alleviate the hangover symptoms."
The study also recommends black tea, green tea, probiotioc yoghurt, wheat, turmeric, ginger, dates and cocoa.
But you should avoid milk, oats, peanuts, nutmeg, cumin, cinnamon, vitamin C, coffee and eggs.
The 'good' foods and pear drink help break down acetaldehyde by boosting dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase in the liver.
Until the acetaldehyhe is broken down you will continue to feel bad - with headaches, nausea and other familiar hangover symptpms.
So the quicker you break it down the better.
They found commercial hangover cures and antioxidants had no impact on the enzymes helping end your hangover.
They added: "Coffee decreased the ALDH activity by a large magnitude; hence it is not advisable to consume coffee post alcohol intake as it might lead to acetaldehyde build-up resulting in prolonged hangover."
The study was published in Current Research in Food Science .
