Make your lunch work

If you find yourself feeling anxious, jumpy, and panicky mid-afternoon, or lethargic, uncomfortable and sluggish, it could be that it's not your job that's stressing you out, but your lunch.

The midday meal for busy workers should be a time to recharge and rest. But the wrong lunch can make you feel worse than ever. Here Stephanie Zinser, whose book, The Good Gut Guide, is out this week, gives her tips on how to eat the perfect lunch.

1. Don't rush your lunch. The faster you eat, the more likely you are to swallow air, which can cause wind, bloating and abdominal pain. People often swallow too much air as a reaction to stress. Smoking, chewing gum, sucking hard sweets and wearing badly-fitting dentures are also hazards.

2. Try to sit quietly during and after lunch. A huge amount of blood - some 40 per cent of your blood supply - passes through the digestive system after a meal, allowing the nourishment to be absorbed and distributed throughout the body. You shouldn't even shop, let alone exercise, after eating because activity will divert most of the blood from the digestive system to help muscles perform.

3. Chew each mouthful slowly, at least 15 times. Saliva contains important enzymes such as amylase, which breaks starch down. The more you chew, the more easily your food will be digested, and the less likely it is that you will suffer indigestion - the classic curse of the stressed-out executive.

4. Although stress is often associated with stomach ulcers, what you eat may be a more important factor. Avoid excessively spicy or acidic foods (such as tomatoes), and lower your alcohol intake.

5. A great lunch is pasta with pesto sauce - basil, pines nuts and garlic. Basil can help relieve sadness, tension and boost the nervous system, and sage can combat post-viral fatigue and nervous exhaustion.

6. A brain booster is a vegetable stir-fry with ginger. Ginger eases headaches and improves memory.

7. You'll pay for eating fast food like burgers and chips. Fatty foods take longer to digest, making you feel lethargic and hampering your productivity.

8. Avoid colas and highly-caffeinated "energy" drinks. Apart from containing caffeine, a stimulant that can worsen feelings of anxiety or panic if you're already stressed, fizzy drinks may make you feel bloated and uncomfortable.

9. Be careful how you drink hot drinks. If you gulp your coffee or tea while it's very hot, you can damage the sensitive lining of your throat and oesophagus. This can contribute to chronic problems such as heartburn and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (Gerd).

10. Steer clear of chocolate, sweets and cakes. These boost your blood sugar levels, but plummet quickly, leaving you more under pressure than before. Instead, choose snacks such as oat flapjacks, wholemeal sandwiches, brown rice or pasta salads that release sugars into your bloodstream at a slower, more constant, rate.

11. Treat your stomach to a mixed salad with alfalfa sprouts. Fruit, vegetables and pulses provide long-lasting energy, and they help prevent constipation - a common problem if you're stressed. Fibre helps reduce cholesterol by binding to it in the bowel, preventing it from being reabsorbed into the blood.

12. Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Dehydration causes headaches, performance problems and memory failures.

The Good Gut Guide, by Stephanie Zinser, is published by Thorsons, £10.99.