Question: My son eats only junk food, and is getting fat, covered in pimples and lazy. How can I stop him eating junk and start him on good foods?
Fried chips. Licorice. Soft drinks. Tinned fruit. Popcorn. Sweets. Cream buns. Dough nuts. These are certainly fun foods, but they are not very nutritious or healthy.
A child’s diet can be a constant concern to many parents, particularly if that child is a fussy eater and refuses to eat anything except hot dogs, chips and Coca-Cola.
Unfortunately, these problems are more a matter of appropriate behavioral management and discipline by the parent than a gastronomic necessity. If a child is given healthy fun foods from an early age, plus the occasional supervised dosage of ‘junk’ food, good eating habits can be readily established. If ‘junk’ foods are totally banned, they can become even more desirable than if they are special treats given occasionally. It is important to get just the right balance between ‘good’ and ‘bad’.

Question: I enjoy my food, but I don’t enjoy the after effects. I don’t see why I should then proceed to burp for the rest of the night. How can I help myself?
A change in diet would obviously be the answer, and if you eat the above foods regularly, you must look like a blimp!
An increase in fiber in the diet, and a decrease in processed foods will help the situation, but all of us over indulge, or eat inappropriate combinations of foods at different times, and suffer the consequences of stomach pain, belching, nausea and flatus (farts). The problem can be aggravated by nervous swallowing when under stress, swallowing air when eating quickly, and any fizzy drink from champagne to Coca-Cola.
A wide range of medications to relieve excess stomach gas are available. The simpler ones available without prescription from chemists contain substances such as simethicone (which breaks up the bubbles of gas), peppermint oil and charcoal. Simethicone can also be used to relieve wind in babies.
If these do not work, doctors can prescribe drugs to prevent the gut spasms, and reduce the production of gas.