The ultimate snack combos

Put down the pringles and combine and conquer with these four health-boosting food pairings, which work together to provide exponential nutritional benefits

Banana x peanut butter

Slather your fruit with the lifter’s favourite spread to power through afternoon lulls. The banana’s simple carbs provide a quick boost of energy along with a sizeable dose of heart-protecting potassium, while the protein in the peanut butter stabilises your blood sugar spike to keep you from crashing, says Dr Marilyn Glenville, author of Fat Around The Middle.

Eggs x cheese

Slip a slice of cheddar into a post-workout egg sarnie. The yolks are rich in vitamin D, which bolsters your body’s absorption of the cheese’s calcium hit, says Linda O’Byrne, chief nutritionist for the New Atkins Nutritional Approach. The result: increased bone density, providing a stronger scaffolding for muscles fed by the eggs’ fast-digesting protein.

Spinach x lemon juice

Drizzling your greens with citrus helps to optimise your cells’ absorption of iron. Over 2 billion people worldwide are deficient in this crucial nutrient and a recent study published in the journal PLoS One found those with low levels double their risk of stroke. “Increasing iron uptake can also delay muscle fatigue and speed recovery time,” says O’Byrne.

Apple x dark chocolate

Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found eating a small amount of dark chocolate every day significantly lowers your blood pressure. Chase down your choc with an apple and you’ll stoke up your cardio defences even further: the skins are loaded with the anti-inflammatory quercetin which, when combined with catechins in dark chocolate, forms an antioxidant powerhouse that breaks up clotting blood platelets.