Some excellent sources of fiber rich foods include: pears, spinach, lima beans, lentils, and whole grains. However, if you are recovering from a recent flare up, consult with your doctor before increasing your fiber intake.
Low-fiber cereals. Yellow squash, pumpkin or zucchini (skins removed and cooked) Potatoes with no skin. Cooked spinach, beets or asparagus.
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.
Research suggests that a diet low in fiber and high in red meat may increase your risk of getting diverticulitis—inflammation of one or a few pouches in the wall of your colon. Eating high-fiber foods and eating less red meat may lower the risk.
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. Beans and legumes, including black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas and lentils.
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.
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.
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.
Years ago, doctors thought that eating corn, popcorn, nuts and seeds could inflame the polyps and cause diverticulitis, but there's no research to support that. “It's safe to eat these types of foods, including tomatoes and strawberries with seeds,” Taylor notes. “All that normal roughage and fiber is fine.”
Having vegetables with your meals and snacks. You can add vegetables to the foods that you are eating or have soup, salad or cooked vegetables on the side; Increasing your fiber intake slowly; And taking in enough fluids along with the high fiber foods.
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.
How to tell if spinach has gone bad. It is very easy to tell if spinach has gone bad: it will be dark green or greenish brown, wet or slimy, and will smell a bit like algae or garbage—and taste like it, too.
“Eggs are a great source of protein, and they're easily digested,” Dr. Nazarian says. And they won't irritate your diverticula.
Eggs contain protein that can be easily digested, and it will not irritate your digestive tract. Therefore, scrambled eggs can be taken during diverticulitis.
As long as you are not in the acute phase of diverticulitis, it's OK to eat nuts, corn and popcorn. It's also OK to eat small fruits with seeds, such as strawberries and blueberries. Research has found that these foods are not associated with an increased diverticulitis risk.
Plant fiber, especially the insoluble fiber, is the best. These are the fibers that do not produce colon gas. The easiest to take are wheat bran, amaranth, barley and others as listed in Fiber Content of Foods.
It is best to avoid these types of foods so that diverticulitis symptoms do not become worse. High fiber vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, and artichokes are high in fiber and can be difficult to digest. Eating them may cause gas and bloating. People with diverticulitis may not digest lactose well.
The UCSF noted that it is safe for people living with diverticulitis to eat nuts, popcorn, and seeds, including pumpkin and sesame seeds. Experts also say that it is OK to eat the seeds in tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, strawberries, and raspberries.
However, overstimulation of the bowels for those with diverticulitis can cause more pain. Coffee may also increase lower abdominal pain and worsen diarrhea. The bottom line is that diverticulitis and drinking coffee aren't a great combination.
Targeted interventions, including an anti-inflammatory diet, adequate fiber and hydration, exercise, stress management, probiotics, and supplementation with demulcent herbs, butyrate, and magnesium, may help decrease symptoms and improve diverticular disease.
The doctor also may suggest taking a fiber product, such as Citrucel® or Metamucil®, once a day. Your doctor may recommend a low- or high-fiber diet depending on your condition. Listed below are high-fiber food options for diverticulosis and low-fiber food options for diverticulitis.