I'm a 33-year-old woman living in London. I like to think that I take good care of myself: I run for 45 minutes every day and try to eat three balanced meals, but my job is demanding with high stress and long hours, so sometimes I either have a cheeky takeaway or don't eat at all. I have noticed in the past six months, though, that my hair is thinning. More comes out than usual when I brush it and it looks quite thin in the front. I went to my doctor who said that this could be because of the stress and my erratic diet. Is there something I can eat to make it thicker?

Diane, 33, London

Stress can certainly play a big role in hair loss and so addressing this part of your life is crucial. Lemon balm and camomile teas are both very soothing, with the latter working on anti-anxiety centres in our brains to help to calm us down. They are certainly worth sipping throughout the day and at night to improve the chances of a good sleep.

Also, take a look at your iron intake. Iron is a mineral that we get from lean red meat, oily fish and eggs as well as some pulses, fortified breakfast cereals and dark green vegetables, such as spinach. The problem is that around 40 per cent of women in the UK are just not getting enough and one sign of long-term poor iron intake is thinning hair. Try to have at least one iron-rich food a day and top up with a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement that gives you around 14mg of iron that is close to the recommended daily intake. I would not recommend iron alone unless prescribed by your doctor because it can unbalance the absorption of other minerals.

I have seen some impressive results for hair thinning with another specific hair supplement formulation called Nourkrin. It is a blend of soluble silica and vitamin C, plus a protein compound of marine extracts. I am usually rather nervous of “beauty” supplements but this one has undergone clinical testing and over a period of six months has been shown to have good effects on hair gain, comparing favourably with hair restoring drugs such as finasteride.

The advantage of this supplement is that it is side-effect free. While scientists are not quite able to pinpoint how it works, they predict it could be down to improvements in the production of a hormone called dyhydrotesterone in the hair follicle. It is quite pricey though (you can buy it from high street chemists and health food stores at £49.95 for a month's supply) and you do need to give it six months to see any effects, which means a significant investment.

Talking of the hair follicle, it is important to get enough iodine in your diet by regularly eating foods such as fish (iodised salt gives us this mineral, too). Iodine is essential for a healthy thyroid gland which, when underactive, reduces activity of hair follicles and slows the rate of hair growth.

If you have nutrition questions for Amanda, e-mail her at amandaursell@the times.co.uk