TORONTO - If the sight of Betty White playing beer pong on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has got you all fired up to try to match her performance this New Year's Eve, consider this: you know the expression that booze pickles your liver? That's not quite right. It's actually being embalmed.

Yup, every time you detox from a binge on booze, your body produces a little bit of formaldehyde, your local mortician's favourite chemical.

And if you think that preserving your organs is a good way to guarantee longevity, think again.

Once tissue is cross-linked with formaldehyde, it starts to lose its function, says Massimo Marcone, an associate professor in the department of food science at the University of Guelph.

"Basically that tissue doesn't have any biochemical reactions in it any more, that's why a body lasts longer when it's been embalmed," Marcone says. "So it's harmful to the body."

And here you thought a hangover just left you with a headache and an upset stomach.

While the best advice for avoiding kicking off 2012 with a hangover is to drink responsibly (and please people, either way, leave the car at home), there are actually tried-and-true ways to curb the suffering that comes with too many gin and tonics.

Marcone explains that alcohol dehydrates the body, so when you're suffering with a hangover you're suffering from dehydration.

"As you dehydrate, the body pulls in water from all parts of the body in order to keep vital functions going," Marcone says. "The brain has a lot of water in it, so some of the water is pulled from the brain."

As water is lost the brain shrinks, and that stress is what causes that lovely jackhammer feeling in your head.

So the number one way to stave off a hangover? Stay hydrated. But there's a catch.

Some people think that alternating an alcoholic beverage with a glass of water is the key. But alcohol actually inhibits the body's ability to absorb water, so it's important to drink something with a little salt or sugar, like lemonade, to keep your electrolyte levels up.

The severity of a hangover can also depend on the type of alcohol you drink. Dark-coloured alcohols have what are known as congeners, which are a by-product of fermentation and give the alcohol its smell and its flavour.

Consuming a beverage with a higher level of congeners, such as brandy or whisky, can lead to a more severe hangover, while consuming a clear alcohol, such as vodka or gin, can lead to a happier morning after.

So-called "hangover pills," also known as chasers, can absorb the congeners and lessen their effect. Sold online, and at some grocery stores and pharmacies, these pills contain activated charcoal that absorbs the congeners in the alcohol.

According to Marcone, the science shows the pills work.

But what if you forgot to go online and get your "activated charcoal" tablets and then drank rye instead of vodka? Or your buddies kept buying rounds of shots well after you reached your pre-set cut-off point?

Rehydrate before you go to sleep and then again the next morning. But remember, plain-old water isn't going to cut it. Here's what you need for your emergency hangover kit (and what to leave out):

  • You can go out and spend a fortune on Gatorade or some other fancy sports drink, but all have to do, says Marcone, is mix ¾ of a teaspoon of sugar and ¾ of a teaspoon of salt in a glass of water.
  • Alcohol can make the lining of the stomach tender and sensitive, which leads to what is universally known as "gut rot." Take an antacid to neutralize the stomach's pH levels, or a Gravol if you're really feeling nauseous.
  • Coffee may provide a short-term boost, the stimulant antidote to the alcohol's depressant, but that's all you'll get. Like alcohol, coffee dehydrates you, so it will only make your hangover worse.

And what of that old adage about the hair of the dog?

"It really is a myth," Marcone says.

As he explains it, the body metabolizes the higher-molecular weight alcohols first, then moves on to the lower molecular weight alcohols, as it detoxifies after a night of drinking.

By consuming more alcohol, the body just shifts back to metabolizing the higher-molecular-weight alcohols, prolonging the detox cycle.

"So really what you're just doing is delaying the inevitable, which is the hangover," Marcone says.

"And basically the more alcohol you get into you, the more severe the hangover's going to be at the end. So the hair of the dog that bit you is actually not really going to work for you."