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Lactose (or milk sugar) can aggravate diarrhoea; the lactose content of hard cheese and yoghurt is less than in milk and soft cheese, so changing to the lower-lactose dairy products might calm things down. Also try rice or oat milk in drinks or porridge. Other gut-calming drinks include mint, camomile, green (decaffeinated) and Rooibos tea. Keep up your fluid intake: diarrhoea can dehydrate. Fruit juice may irritate, so drink water. Probiotic bacteria and aloe vera juice can help, as can traditional remedies such as apple cider vinegar (mix a teaspoon each of vinegar and honey in a glass of warm water before or after meals).

WIND

Usually caused by too many rich (fatty and sugary) or spicy foods. Drinking too much alcohol, especially beer, can also cause gas. Cauliflower, beans, lentils, broccoli, artichokes, garlic, cabbage, dried fruits are best kept to a minimum. Try a probiotic — eg, live acidophilus, or live organic yoghurt (a small pot daily — that contains live bifido and lactobacillus bacteria) can get rid of wind. Eat the yoghurt cool.

Coffee and tea aggravate wind, so cut down both. Drinking mint or fennel tea after meals helps, as does eating slowly — eating quickly involves swallowing a lot of air and means you don’t chew well, so the gut has a harder task of breaking down food. Keep a diary to see what foods make the wind worse.

STOMACH ULCER

Often linked to the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which wears away the stomach lining, causing a painful ulcer. Seek a diagnosis from your doctor; treatment can include Manuka honey (from health-food stores and supermarkets), which has strong antibacterial properties and can kill ulcer-causing bacteria — take a teaspoon morning and evening, neat, not within an hour of a hot drink. Frequent small meals (ideally every three hours)can use up stomach acids and stop them aggravating the ulcer (thus allowing it to heal). Don’t leave your stomach empty for hours.

Avoid spicy or fatty foods, citrus, even fresh fruit juices, which can make an ulcer sore. Smoking increases acid secretion, so stop. Mint tea helps to neutralise acids that aggravate an ulcer, as do camomile and fennel. Extreme temperature (ie, food that is very cold or hot food) can exacerbate the pain. Stay away from tea and coffee, and don’t overdo the alcohol — the gentler you are to your stomach, the quicker the ulcer will heal. Focus on activities that relieve stress — stress increases acid secretion.

DIVERTICULAR DISEASE

A condition where the walls of the intestine weaken, forming pockets or sacs (diverticula) resembling bunches of grapes. Around 25 per cent of those with diverticula suffer from abdominal pain, sporadic diarrhoea, constipation, while, if infection sets in, rectal bleeding and fever that may result in a stay in hospital. You will need to see a GP for a diagnosis of this condition.

Our “low-fibre” Western diet is relatively deficient in fibre-rich fruit, vegetables, oats and other whole grains, and constipation encourages diverticula (straining weakens the intestinal walls). So preventing constipation is vital. Include rice, oats, lots of whole-grain bread, and cereals, plus fruit, beans vegetables, and lentils in your diet. Drink at least 2.5 litres of water a day to help the fibre to swell.

If the diverticula become infected, you need a gentle low-fibre diet. Switch to white rice, pasta, white fish, chicken, a few cooked fruits and vegetables. Avoid whole grains and vegetables and fruits with seeds (tomatoes, marrows, grapes) — seeds can get trapped in the diverticula — and wind-inducing vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, cabbages, beans, lentils (see above).

STOMACH ACHE

Stress, overeating, mild bacterial/viral infection may all cause stomach ache. Eat light food such as rice and chicken — avoid raw salad, fatty, rich or sugary foods, pasties, rich cakes and anything oily. And forget alcohol or caffeine. If you think your stomach ache is caused by constipation or wind, follow the advice in these sections. I find taking aloe vera juice for a day makes my stomach ache disappear. Mint, fennel, camomile, lemon balm teas all relax the gut, as can chewing liquorice, caraway or fennel seeds.

COELIAC DISEASE

This condition is caused by an inability to digest and deal with gluten, the protein in wheat and rye, and similar proteins in barley and oats. Symptoms include failure to thrive (in children), pain, diarrhoea, bloating, vomiting; the gut becomes damaged and less able to absorb nutrients and the resulting lack of iron can lead to anaemia, and lack of calcium, to a higher risk of osteoporosis. If you think you have coeliac disease, see your GP before cutting out gluten because you will need to be tested. Once you are diagnosed, avoid all gluten-containing foods (and oats and barley), as they damage the intestine.

Coeliac UK has leaflets and web information offering advice. You need to avoid gluten for life, but as long as you do, your gut can repair itself and symptoms may disappear.

Send your nutritional problems to jane.clarke@thetimes.co.uk or to Jane Clarke, times2, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1TT. Her replies cannot apply to individual cases and should be taken in a general context. Consult your GP with any health or specific conditions. Jane cannot enter into personal correspondence.

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