It might be the first thing you reach for in the morning, but experts say that this can increase the amount you need to drink to get that morning jolt. The reason is that levels of the alertness hormone cortisol are high between 8 am and 9 am. And drinking coffee when cortisol is at its highest counteracts some of the effects, meaning you need a larger dose to get results. The best time to enjoy a cup is between 9.30 am and 11.30 am, when cortisol levels are lowered.

According to nutritionists, eating pasta that’s been cooked, cooled and then reheated decreases the rise in blood sugar, and therefore insulin, that occurs when you eat high levels of carbohydrates by more than 50 per cent. Controlling this more successfully lowers the risk of insulin resistance, a condition linked to weight gain and type 2 diabetes. The reason is that cooking then cooling food increases its levels of a substance called resistant starch – and resistant starch slows how we digest a food.

We tend to buy the biggest looking produce but, smaller produce contains higher levels of nutrients. Studies have found the more a tomato weighs the lower its concentration of the antioxidant lycopene, while larger broccoli heads have a lower proportion of minerals like magnesium.

Adding water to stir-fry is a technique used in Chinese cooking to help lower the oil temperature in the pan. “And this reduces the oxidative damage that occurs to oil if you fry at high temperatures,” says Dr Laurence Booth, who co-authored Know What to Eat with Professor Rodney Bilton. This is important as when oil is damaged it changes structure in ways that may be harmful to DNA.

“Research published in the journal Flavour showed that using a teaspoon actually increases the perception of sweetness in a food – possibly because we associate them with dispensing sugar into things like tea,” says dietician Trudy Williams. “Eat with a teaspoon and either add less sugar to a recipe or be satisfied with a smaller portion.”

The next time you’re giving in to a sugar craving, try cutting the item into two, or even four, eating one serving then putting the rest out of sight. Wait 15 minutes and chances are you’ll be happy and won’t register that you didn’t eat it all.

Every day we throw away parts of fruits and vegetables that have added benefits – just because they aren’t the parts we normally eat. For example, the florets of the broccoli might look more appealing but the stalks contain more calcium and vitamin C. Simply remove any tough outer edges and thinly slice the stalks to cook – you can add them to stir-fries, fried rice and soups – or try them raw and shredded in salads.

Anything you do to a carbohydrate-rich food, like mashing, grinding, or pressing into flakes, alters the structure in ways that means it releases sugar into the bloodstream faster. “Twenty-five per cent more sugar is released from a potato that’s been boiled then mashed compared to one made into chips,” say experts. For the same reason avoid breakfast flakes or finely milled versions of foods like porridge.

When Dr Sean Lucan from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York gave a group of volunteers potato chips and another group cheese, he found the cheese group consumed less food and calories than the chips group because they found the food more satisfying. “The calories in any individual item is not what matters – what matters is how many calories people consume overall. And some foods promote a sense of fullness, reducing this, while others promote hunger and food cravings,” he says. He suggests adding more nuts, avocados and full-fat dairy and avoiding refined starches like white rice, white bread or low-fat foods with added sugars.

If you have a fondness for spicy foods, relax, it’s doing you good. Eating chili just once or twice weekly can reduce your risk of premature death by 10 per cent, compared to eating it less than once a week, a recent study shows. Add fresh chili, dried chili flakes, chili oil or sauce to your food and it may lower your risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and being overweight. To increase the benefits, skip the alcoholic beverage with your spicy meal.