If you're the type of person who like being around people during the holidays and you have friends who like to throw drinking parties, then you're mostly likely to face a major hangover on New Year's Day. Don't shy away from the party just yet because, with a little discipline and a lot of help from some applications and proven preventive measures, you won't need to romance the ceramic fixture with your gift of partly digested dinner all night.

The biggest and most important rule of all when it comes to drinking is NEVER DRINK ALCOHOL ON AN EMPTY STOMACH. It's common sense but with busy schedules when guests arrive in the middle of the party after a busy day, some people tend to forget that they haven't had a decent meal before chugging down that first bottle of beer. No, that cheeseburger you had at 3:00 P.M. won't cut it when it's already 9:00 P.M. and it was the last thing you ate.

With the golden rule out of the way, let's go over some of the things that could help you out on a booze-filled night.

Applications To Prevent And/Or Help Hangover Sufferers
If you've experienced a bad hangover before, then you should know that it's not that easy to find relief from it. Luckily, many people share your pain and some of them even developed applications for mobile device to aid their fellow hangover sufferers. Here are some of the applications you may want to check out.

•  Hang Over is a preventive app available for Android users which helps you keep track of your drinks on a night out and allows you to rate your hangover level on a scale of 1-10 the following day. So why is this a preventive app? Simply because, once you see your alcohol intake from your previous binge, you will have an idea of your limits and how much pain you're in for if your reach or go over it.

•  Hydration Station is an application that has custom voice reminders telling you to drink water every 30 minutes, one hour, one and a half hour or two hours, depending on your choice. It was created with the idea that, while dehydration is only one of the factors that lead to hangovers, consistent hydration while drinking alcohol would minimize the impact of a hangover. The developers tested the application themselves during a night of drinking and found that the one who drank water every time the reminder went off was able to get up at 7:00 A.M. for a jog the next day while the one who ignored the reminder woke up with a splitting headache at 10:00 A.M. The application is available on iTunes.

•  Drinking Buddy is an application that looks out for your health and safety more than just preventing hangovers. The app is designed to help you make a logical choice (hopefully) by tracking your blood alcohol content (BAC) and telling you when you are no longer legally allowed to drive and must call a cab instead.

There are two versions of this app with the same name but were created by different developers. The iTunes version of Drinking Buddy does what is written above but also measures your intoxication level as well as updates how much tax and tip you should leave whenever you order another drink. The Android version of Drinking Buddy, on the other hand, automatically cues your phone to call a friend or a cab company when your BAC is goes over the level you indicated beforehand. It also has a game that tests for your reaction time which, in turn, gives you proof of your intoxication level.

•  Hangover Cures is another Android app and its main concern is to supply you with different ways to help ease your hangover. You can also send in your own tested cure to the developer and it can be added if it checks out.

Time-Tested Tips To Ease Your Hangover
So you know the golden rule and you're ready to have a night of fun. Does that guarantee you a hangover free night? The answer is 'No' and we're sure you know that. However, here are some things you might want to consider to minimize the effects of alcohol in your system.

•  As much as possible, don't eat greasy food before going out for drinks. Go for food that has little natural fat and also high in protein. Salmon, Herring, Avocados and Eggs would do nicely. That lean, juicy steak wouldn't hurt too.
•  Drink a lot of water before and in-between drinks.
•  Try to stay away from darker colored drinks. Why? Because dark drinks have congeners and it is alcohol language for hangover. No, there's really no alcohol language but what is true is that darker drinks have the naturally occurring substance called congeners and the more congeners a drink has, the darker it appears because it enhances color. While congeners occur in relatively minute quantities, they are potentially toxic, a research indicates.
•  Sports drinks help in hydrating your body after a tiresome activity so since drinking alcohol causes dehydration, drinking sports drinks could be a substitute for water. However, be warned that flavored sports drinks also contain sugar and while sugar could also help with hangover, the type of sugar your body needs doesn't come in a bottle.
•  Eat high fructose fruits. You can go for mangoes, kiwis, pears, bananas, apples, blackberries or any other high fructose fruit of your choice.

The best way to prevent a hangover is to not drink at all but if that can't be done, then moderation is the key. You have to love and understand yourself well enough to know your limits and keep yourself from going overboard... or do better next time.