Last month we looked at the importance of eating breakfast as a way of improving your general health and nutrition in preparation for optimum fertility.

Good eating throughout the day can really help balance your hormones and make every cell in your body function better. So this time we’re looking at the second part of that old adage – lunch like a prince.

If you tend to grab a quick sandwich for lunch, you may get that early afternoon slump, which makes you feel like having a snooze. This is because carbohydrates (like bread, pasta and potatoes) release serotonin, designed to send us to sleep.

Instead eat a small high-protein meal with lots of fresh veggies or salad, which increases the production of dopamine, a brain chemical which gives us energy and vitality. Proteins also provide the essential building blocks of the body. They’re needed for egg production and to produce FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinising hormone).

How about lean meat or oily fish with salad, or hummus and crudités, with some fruit afterwards? It’ll give you an energy boost for the afternoon, and you’ll be improving your eating habits at the same time.

And don’t forget… it could really make the difference to your fertility!