Six ways to eat for more energy

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1. Drink plenty - being even mildly dehydrated can lead to lethargy. Aim for at least 1.5 litres of fluid - preferably water, but juice and tea also
count - more if its hot, or you're exercising hard.

2. Eat beans and bread - slow releasing carbohydrates such as chickpeas, kidney beans, baked beans, nuts and grainy bread will keep your energy levels more stable than sugars and white flour which cause your blood glucose to fluctuate.

3. Have caffeine with lunch - a cup of coffee in the middle of the day can help offset the natural dip in energy level you get in the afternoon. But more than two or three caffeinated drinks a day may actually deplete your energy by disrupting blood sugar.

4. Increase your iron levels - tiredness can indicate iron deficiency
anaemia. A mild iron deficiency will respond to eating more iron-rich foods such as red meat, liver, pulses and green vegetables. But if you have a more severe iron depletion - which will only show itself up through blood tests - you'll need strong iron tablets that prescribed by your GP.

5. Eat enough calories -cutting down by more than 500 a day can reduce the nutritional quality of you diet and affect your energy levels. If you're dieting, eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and unprocessed foods and don't go lower than around 1400 calories day.

6. Eat seeds - they're great energisers. Two teaspoons of sesame-rich tahini paste provide nearly half the Recommended Daily Allowance of magnesium (crucial for energy release in cells) and one quarter of the RDA of iron.

Where to next?
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By Angela Dowden, nutritionist

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