How can I ‘cheers’ without fear?

Q:

I used to love having a glass of wine or a beer in the evening—but lately, even one drink leaves me feeling awful the next day. I have a celebration coming up and hope to raise a toast. Can you help?

A:

We can relate! After age 30, the liver is less efficient at metabolizing alcohol, making next-day headaches and nausea more intense. To sidestep this, we suggest a two-step approach:

(1) 30 minutes before you drink, have a snack with healthy fats (like avocado toast drizzled with olive oil), which slow the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream by up to 400%. Finnish researchers say this prevents a flood of symptom-triggering acetaldehyde as the liver breaks down alcohol.

(2) Before bed, drink a glass of water mixed with electrolytes. They rebalance levels of minerals your body needs to retain fluids and extinguish alcohol-triggered inflammation. Try: Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier powder (Walgreens.com) or Salt Stick Caps (Walmart.com).