Researchers have discovered that how they combine unhealthy food options on the same plate plays as big a part in setting their risk of illness as the food choices they make.

The idea is to eat at least 350 grams of fish a week, which is around one-and-a-half cups—and it should be a fatty fish, such as herring or mackerel, or a mix with leaner cuts such as plaice and pollock. But don't make tuna your first choice; it's low in the fatty acids we need, and it can also have high concentrations of methylmercury.

The painkiller increases the risk of major, life-threatening bleeding by nearly 50 per cent, and yet has only a marginal protective effect against heart disease.

It's a key vitamin that has anti-cancer properties, and it's also been linked to a range of other cancers, including colon, bladder, prostate and colorectal.

Other researchers have also suggested that zinc prevents and combats cancer, but the new research is the first to understand the mechanism and how the mineral attacks only cancer cells, but leaves healthy ones.