A Round-the-Clock Guide to Eating Right

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7 am: Most of us turn to a strong cup of tea or coffee to kick-start our bodies in the morning. And if you feel lethargic without one may be addicted to caffeine. While caffeine overcomes fatigue, overdoing it can keep you awake and irritable. It can also lead to upset stomachs, cause the “jitters”, nervousness and headaches. The best way to start the day is with your metabolism slows down during the night, so in order to help your body feel awake, it needs energy. Cereals are best as they are fortified with iron and are eaten with protein-rich milk. Toast or a banana will also give you energy.

11am: Don’t be tempted to visit the sweet shop for elevenses. Snacking on chocolates and other sugary will give you short peaks and troughs of energy during the day. The best way to keep your brain ticking over is to drink plenty of fluids. Dehydration quickly diminishes the capacity of most of our organs, especially the brain, kidneys and skin. Drinking eight to 10 cups of fluid a day. This can be anything from fruit juice to tea, coffee or milk. There is nothing essentially wrong with having two or four cups of instant coffee a day. The health risk comes with boiled and filtered coffee – ones that have sat on electric heaters for a few hours. These are often associated with raised cholesterol levels.  Carbonated soft drinks are also a risk as it contains a lot phosphoric acid, which lowers your levels of calcium.

1pm: Our energy levels are not just dictated by the food we eat – they’re also subject to the bio-rhythms of our bodies. These changes depend on the level of cortisol, which causes a natural dip in energy levels in the mid-afternoon. So how do we conquer the snooze factor? To start with, having too much carbo at one time will up serotonin levels and makes you drowsy. So, stick to a sandwich and a piece of fruit. Meat is a great energiser and particularly good for you because it has iron. Just remember, the paler the meat, the less iron it contains. Other good sources of iron are oily fish, such as sardines. Fruit juice will also help the body absorb iron, and the bioflavonoid in juice is better absorbed alongside other foods.