Is eating sweets and chocolate really as bad for you as everyone says?
K. Lee, via email.

Compared to smoking and excessive drinking, no. However, the refined sugar in sweets wreaks havoc with your energy levels – you’re up one minute and down the next – and this can lead to headaches and other unwanted side effects.

The other problem with too much refined sugar is that it can cause weight gain. Blood sugar levels are raised, and if there is too much glucose floating in the body and you’re not using it up, the result is fat storage.

If your sweet tooth is talking and you can’t silence it, satisfy it with sweet strawberries. They are full of antioxidants, and eating a handful won’t add centimetres to your waist.

If this still doesn’t do the trick, sugar-free chewing gum could reduce your sweet snack cravings. A US study found that men and women who chewed sugar-free gum three times hourly in the afternoon consumed less sweet snacks than when they didn’t chew gum.

I suffer irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and have heard conflicting information. What should I know?
Nicole Clifton, Budgewoi, NSW.

AIBS is a functional disorder that affects more women than men.

No one thing causes it, but stress, diet, hormones and physical activity can trigger symptoms including pain, bloating and diarrhoea. Managing stress, getting enough sleep and regular gentle exercise is a start.

Some items may make symptoms worse, such as caffeinated and carbonated drinks, fruit, dried beans, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lactose and alcohol.

Don’t self-diagnose. Instead keep a food, fluid and exercise diary for a week and record when symptoms occur. Then take this diary to your GP and ask for a referral to a dietitian or nutritionist for further advice.