As you start feeling better, your doctor will recommend that you slowly add
Your healthcare provider may advise a liquid diet. This gives your bowel a chance to rest so that it can recover. Include these foods: flake cereal, mashed potatoes, pancakes, waffles, pasta, white bread, rice, applesauce, bananas, eggs, fish, poultry, tofu, and well-cooked vegetables. Take your medicines as directed.
Diverticulosis: What to Eat. Cater says people with diverticulosis can benefit from eating fiber-rich foods, including: Whole grains, such as quinoa, bulgur, teff, barley, popcorn, oats, shredded wheat or bran cereals, and whole grain breads.
Actually, no specific foods are known to trigger diverticulitis attacks. And no special diet has been proved to prevent attacks. In the past, people with small pouches (diverticula) in the lining of the colon were told to avoid nuts, seeds and popcorn.
There are no specific foods you need to avoid. You do not need to avoid any foods such as nuts, seeds, corn, popcorn or tomatoes if you have diverticular disease. These foods do not make diverticular disease worse. These foods may even help prevent it because they are high fibre choices.
Eggs contain protein that can be easily digested, and it will not irritate your digestive tract. Therefore, scrambled eggs can be taken during diverticulitis.
Pay attention to symptoms and follow a healthy lifestyle.
Stay away from nuts and seeds, and don't eat popcorn — that's what doctors said years ago if you had diverticulosis, a condition marked by tiny pouches (diverticula) that develop in the lining of the colon.
Medication and Diet
If you have mild diverticulitis, your doctor may prescribe a course of antibiotics, medications that fight bacterial infections. He or she may also put you on a liquid or low-residue diet, which includes foods that are easy to digest, to decrease bulk and stool in the intestines.
Mild cases of diverticulitis are usually treated with antibiotics and a low-fiber diet, or treatment may start with a period of rest where you eat nothing by mouth, then start with clear liquids and then move to a low-fiber diet until your condition improves. More-severe cases typically require hospitalization.
Diverticulitis is caused by an infection of one or more of the diverticula. It is thought an infection develops when a hard piece of stool or undigested food gets trapped in one of the pouches. This gives bacteria in the stool the chance to multiply and spread, triggering an infection.
Stay with liquids or a bland diet (plain rice, bananas, dry toast or crackers, applesauce) until you are feeling better. Then you can return to regular foods and slowly increase the amount of fibre in your diet. Use a heating pad set on low on your belly to relieve mild cramps and pain.
If your diet is currently low in fibre then it is advisable to increase fibre gradually; aim to introduce 1-2 new high fibre foods per week. It is recommended that adults aim for 30g of fibre a day. Foods High in Fibre: Weetabix®, Bran flakes, All Bran, Fruit & Fibre, porridge, muesli, Shredded Wheat.
For milder cases of diverticulitis, eat a low-fiber, or GI soft, diet. A low-fiber diet limits fiber intake to between 8 and 12 grams of fiber, depending on the severity of the flare-up. Good low-fiber food options include: Grains: Lovers of white pasta and white bread, rejoice!
Plus, probiotics have anti-inflammatory effects, which may help to ease inflammation from diverticulitis. Probiotics are available in supplement form, but they can also be found in certain foods, such as yogurt, kombucha, and fermented vegetables.
The diverticulitis flare will usually go away after four to six weeks, Doerfler says. At that point, you can start eating higher-fiber foods like whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats like nuts, seeds, avocado, and olive oil.
Avoidance. Once the acute episode of diverticulitis is treated, the mainstay of advice on discharge is to increase the intake of dietary fibre and avoid foods that could predispose to a further episode of diverticulitis, mainly corn, nuts and seeds.
Consuming a high fiber diet may reduce the risk of diverticulitis and improve digestive health in general. But people experiencing a flare-up may be better off avoiding high fiber foods. Limiting red and processed meat may also reduce risk and symptoms.
Take fiber supplements — You can take fiber supplements like Metamucil, Citrucel or Benefiber to bulk up your stool. Seeds and nuts — In the past we advised diverticulitis patients to avoid whole pieces of fiber, like seeds, corn and nuts.
In general, it's best to avoid alcohol during a flare-up of diverticulitis. During times of non-flares if you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
It's not just beef, lamb, and pork that people with diverticulitis should avoid- processed meats like sausage and bacon are also a no-go. These types of meats contain nitrates and other preservatives that can irritate the gut and worsen symptoms.