There are nutrient deficiencies that can have a negative effect on your mood. A lack of iron, selenium, B vitamins are even linked with poor mental health. But the other way round is also true: many foods rich in these micronutrients can be considered mood-enhancers in their own right.

Go for brazil nuts for selenium; fish, red meat, pulses, chicken and eggs for iron; bananas and citrus fruits for folate; and dairy products, meat and fish for vitamin B6.

Carbohydrate-rich foods are linked with higher serotonin in the brain, a chemical messenger. Serotonin is made from the amino acid tryptophan and is in some protein-containing foods, but carbohydrate can also increase tryptophan. The brain needs a constant supply of glucose to function properly, and this comes from carbohydrate-containing foods such as fruit, vegetables, potatoes, cereals, bread and rice.

But there is another aspect to this. Aside from the nutrients they contain, foods can influence mood because of the associations we have with them – foods we really enjoy such as chocolate or ice cream are associated with pleasure. We forget about cholesterol or blood sugar with a big ice cream topped with whipped cream and cherries - but what a treat…