What time you should sit down at the table on New Year's Eve: the exact time has been named

This tradition lives on in many families: sitting down at the table closer to midnight and starting to eat only after the chimes strike. From a nutritionist's point of view, the idea isn't the best: it turns out that we spend the whole day on a half-starved ration and then, in the middle of the night, gorge on everything in sight. After all, the dishes on the table are all hearty and heavy — Olivier salad, jellied meat, herring under a fur coat, sausage and cheese, a hot meat dish. It's no wonder that by morning the situation in the stomach becomes «it's complicated», and by the end of the feast we've put on a couple of extra kilos. 

So how should it be done? Nutrition experts at Rospotrebnadzor advise starting the New Year's dinner at 10:00 p.m. — that's the time to serve the main hot dish and properly see off the outgoing year. By midnight it's better to leave something lighter on the table: fruit, vegetable platters, salads, and light snacks. 

«Don't put all the prepared salads out in big salad bowls at once. Keep them in containers in the refrigerator and add to the table as needed. It will be both tastier and safer», the experts explain. 

How not to overeat and overdrink during the holiday

Use the one-plate rule: put a little bit of everything on your plate and limit yourself to exactly that portion throughout the entire feast. It's a bit difficult, but you definitely won't go hungry — the portion is sure to be larger than your usual one anyway. 

And another thing that really helps avoid overindulging is controlling how much you drink. Alcohol loosens the hunger centers in the brain, which is why it's so easy to put away a whole tub of Olivier salad with a shot of liquor. That's why experts advise diluting strong alcohol with water, not mixing different alcoholic drinks, not drinking carbonated alcohol, and keeping the interval between toasts at no less than 15 minutes. You don't have to finish the glass to the bottom, by the way. 

Another valuable tip — drink a glass of water for every serving of alcohol. This will help avoid dehydration and reduce your morning suffering. 

«Under no circumstances combine alcohol with coffee. It won't help you perk up or sober up, but it will easily provoke problems with the heart and blood vessels», doctors warn.