I am a vegetarian and while I try to eat healthily I find I am often tired.

The answer

Frequently feeling tired is a symptom of iron deficiency or anaemia, but can also be due to other health problems, as well as stress, so I recommend seeing your doctor. Keep up a variety of iron-rich foods daily as iron is needed to make haemoglobin in red blood cells, which carries oxygen to all the body’s cells to produce energy. Good vegetarian sources include fortified breakfast cereals, wholegrains, leafy-green vegetables, pulses, dried apricots and figs, and nuts. You can boost iron absorption by eating foods rich in vitamin C. Vitamin B12 is also needed for healthy red blood cells, and vegetarian sources are dairy foods, eggs and foods fortified with vitamin B12, such as certain cereals and soya milks.