There are plenty of bonuses about growing older but whoever first said, “ageing isn’t for the faint-hearted” did have a point.

There are lots of health niggles and irritations, aren’t there?

And some of them are hard to ignore.

So, I thought this week we might look at digestive problems because they certainly seem to be more prevalent in later life.   

Sometimes, infected food is the culprit.

For example, a warning went out to people of over 65 a couple of years or so ago, claiming that up to 20% of smoked fish in the UK was harbouring listeria and that we should avoid eating it.

As it happens, I was quite ill myself after a meal of smoked mackerel and this may well have been linked to an incidence of listeria, so from that day I’ve avoided all smoked fish.

It’s a drag because I love it. But I don’t want to be so poorly again, and of course you can have a far worse outcome than I had.   

But apart from food poisoning, all sorts of other gut problems can arise.

For example, you may have loved mushrooms passionately and eaten lots of them through life and then notice that these days they give you stomach cramps or severe indigestion.

You might react badly to bananas for the first time. Or find that you can no longer enjoy coffee.

Unless you have other symptoms, there seems little point in seeking medical explanations because all too often such problems are categorised as being “just one of those things”.

One symptom which does seem to be more common as we grow older is acid reflux. There are a wide range of strategies suggested by various experts, but I think the best tactic is for us to try to work out what it is in our diet or lifestyle that generates the symptoms, and then avoid those foods or situations.

I’m not saying you can’t get treatment or shouldn’t self-medicate but, often without realising it, these days we may live very differently from how we used to, and often this does impact on our gut.

Think of the life changes you’ve experienced in the past five or ten years and see if you can identify how this has altered your habits.

Common beliefs among experts are that many of us exercise less, drink insufficient fluid, have difficulty with sleep and may well be eating a more restricted and repetitive sort of diet compared with days gone by.   

Another factor to consider is whether you may be on regular medicines which could possibly have side effects that impair your digestion.

It’s always worth getting out your reading spectacles and checking the small print on the leaflet that accompanies drugs you take.

Also, do ensure you know whether these meds should be taken with food or after.

A friend of mine had painful indigestion for years, and then discovered that a medication prescribed by his doctor was supposed to be taken after food, and he’d been taking it every morning before breakfast.

Simple errors like this can lead to big problems.

Can I just say at this point that though I am mostly talking about commonsense tactics here, it’s vital that all of us tell our doctors if we develop significantly different bowel habits from normal, that go on for longer than three weeks. Please do not ignore this advice.

But assuming this is not the case, these days many folk who are feeling fed up with their stomach and bowels not behaving as they used to, are paying for individual reports on their particular gut and microbiome.

And there’s no doubt that this is the way medicine is going, and that specially targeted approaches are going to become much more normal.

Alas, this sort of information doesn’t come cheap. But many people who are inquisitive about how their gut works and what it responds well to, are choosing to pay for this specific knowledge.

You can find out online what is available but two of the most popular companies in the field are The Chuckling Goat and Zoe.

However, if you’d like to attempt something else before parting with significant cash you might want to try to live a healthier lifestyle, which in turn might get rid of – or minimise – your gut problems.

Have a go at losing weight, eating more fruit and vegetables, upping your levels of exercise, consuming more protein, and indulging in less processed food.

We all know these health messages, but so many of us don’t adopt them. However, often, with effort, we can make them work for us.    

I have an overweight relative who has suffered from tiredness, insomnia, and chronic indigestion for decades and, now in his 70s, he is tackling his diet properly for the first time.

He has lost almost a stone, many of his symptoms have eased, and he feels younger and fitter. So, it’s always possible that some of our problems and niggles can be sorted without too much aggro if we put our minds to it.

Shall we try? It might work wonders