haemoglobin and ferritin levels. Ferritin is an iron-storing protein and this test can give a good indication of your body's iron stores.Iron aweIf you're active, you may be more prone to anaemia. Heavy training can increase your iron needs by 1-2mg per day

're not getting enough omega-3s," says Leslie Bonci, one of the authors of Total Fitness for Women."What do we athletes do instead? We go straight for anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen. What we should be doing is aiming for 1,000g to 2,000mg of omega-3 a day

.In general, plants contain less iron than animal foods and only two to 20 per cent of iron from plants is absorbed by the body, compared with 15 to 35 per cent from meat. Worse still, there are various compounds in everyday foods that affect iron absorption

pastry on your pies instead of short crust or puff pastry," says Norris. Switching to filo saves you 110kcal and 10g of fat per serving, reducing its effect on your blood pressure and cholesterol.17. Chilli peppersThey add heat to a meal, but they also

If broccoli and spinach are the rock stars of the vegetable world, then celery and lettuce are the stage-hands, working hard out of the limelight. For years we've dismissed these pale staples as nutritionally barren, focusing our attention

of nutrition, it ranks foods based on their effect on blood sugar levels.The rise in sugar levels is graded from 0 to 100; the higher the number, the faster the absorption of carbs. Foods such as oatcakes, strawberries and cashew nuts have a low GI (under 55

equal parts orange juice and water, plus a pinch of salt.Drink 100-200ml of an isotonic solution every 10-15 minutes; a standard 750ml bottle containing an isotonic drink should see most people through 50-75 minutes of training. You can have solid food