Most Maritimers over the age of 19 have experienced a hangover and many people have developed their own method of dealing with or preventing one. However, new research done at Acadia University finds there may not be a cure.

“Everybody says they've got the perfect cure between greasy breakfast and a little hair of the dog, but I think a good old fashion Caesar, that's the way to go,” says bartender Jade Johnson.

A new study partially conducted at Acadia University, in Wolfville, N.S., suggests the only true way to prevent or cure a hangover is to not drink at all.

“There really was no difference in severity if you ate food right after you drank or if you ate, you know, the big greasy breakfast in the morning, or if you drank water through or just after you'd been drinking, or if you drank water in the morning,” says Professor Darren Kruisselbrink.

The study surveyed 789 students over a three month period and asked them to measure the number of drinks, how long it took to consume them, and how bad the hangover was.

The study found the majority of those who did not get a hangover were not drinking as much as they thought they were and usually did not reach a blood alcohol level over 0.1.

“Everybody kind of laughs about the hangover, but it does have some fairly significant implications,” says Kruisselbrink.

It's a collaborative study with a researcher in the Netherlands who doesn't want to see hangovers turn into roadway fatalities.

“What he's found is that truckers who are hungover are swaying on the roads just as much as someone who is texting or someone who is drunk,” says Kruisselbrink.

A hangover is more than just a headache, it is made up of a variety of symptoms, so complicated that Kruisselbrink says researchers aren't even sure what a hangover is.

“If you want to find a good cure, a good cure is going to reduce the symptoms that cause a hangover. Well it helps if you know what those symptoms are, and what causes them biologically, so you can design an appropriate cure and we're just not there yet,” says Kruisselbrink.

If you want to reduce your chances of getting a hangover, Kruisselbrink says the answer is simple, just simply drink less.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Matt Woodman