Dutch scientists studying the consequences of drinking too much have concluded that eating food and drinking water make no difference to a hangover, despite the popular belief that they do.

Researchers at Utrecht University asked 826 students if they had eaten or drunk a lot of water following an evening of alcoholic over-indulgence.

‘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,’ lead scientist Dr Joris Verster is quoted as saying by Sky News.

‘From what we know from the surveys so far, the only practical way to avoid a hangover is to drink less alcohol,’ he said.

The study also found that so-called seasoned drinkers who boast of being immune to hangovers are fooling themselves, Sky said.

The scientists calculated the blood alcohol levels of a group of 789 Canadian students and almost eight in 10 of those who claimed not to experience hangovers had actually drunk less than they thought.