Yoghurt is loaded with protein, while wholegrain cereal is rich in fibre. This combination delays the speed at which food leaves the stomach, and slows down the absorption of sugar into the blood, improving satiety, so you feel fuller for longer.

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Eggs provide iron, helping prevent anaemia, which affects up to 40 per cent of young women, causing fatigue, poor concentration and breathlessness. But the body needs help absorbing iron. Packed with vitamin C, orange juice helps the body absorb two to three times more iron from eggs.

Research from The Ohio State University in the US found that although salad is rich in cancer-fighting carotenoids such as lycopene and beta-carotene, the body doesn’t absorb them. But serve those veggies with fat – for example, with French dressing – and the body absorbs them easily.

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Green and black tea both contain a flavonoid called catechin that’s been linked to healthier hearts and protection against some cancers, but most of it is destroyed during digestion. However, scientists found that adding lemon juice stops catechin being broken down – leaving 80 per cent behind.

Bananas are low in sodium and packed with potassium – great for lowering blood pressure. But in a clinical trial, people who ate eight to ten portions of fruit and veg each day had twice as big a drop in blood pressure when they also added low-fat dairy products, such as low-fat custard.

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Of all meats, roast pork is the best source of selenium, while cruciferous veg such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cabbage are packed with an antioxidant called sulforaphane. Combine them and, according to the Institute of Food Research, they offer 13 times more protection against cancer.

Rosemary contains natural compounds such as rosmarinic acid, carnosol and carnosic acid, that work together to block the formation of cancer-causing chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) by up to 92 per cent in meat that’s cooked at high temperatures and well-done.

Oats contain cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre and antioxidants, which help protect against free radical damage and lower the risk of heart disease. But when oats are combined with vitamin C – of which berries are a good source – they protect for almost twice as long.

It’s a Valentine’s combo your heart will love. Italian scientists discovered when the catechin in chocolate and quercetin in strawberries combined, they stopped platelets clumping to form blood clots – important for protecting against strokes and heart attacks. Individually, neither had any effect.

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