One of every ten Americans over the age of 40 has diverticulosis, a chronic digestive disorder that creates diverticula, or pouches that bulge outward at weakened areas along the lining of the large intestine, or colon. When diverticula become irritated and inflamed, the acute disorder is called diverticulitis. Your health care provider will recommend different diets for various phases of your diverticular disease.
Causes
The food you eat combines with fluid to produce soft stools that pass easily through your intestines and pass out of the body through your rectum. If your diet is low in fiber, you might form hard stools that move slowly along your intestinal tract. When you strain to pass hard stools from your body, the increased pressure in your colon creates diverticula. Most experts think that a low-fiber diet causes diverticulosis, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, or NIDDK. Reduce diverticulitis attacks by eating a high-fiber diet.
Changing Your Diet
Most people with diverticulosis have no symptoms, while others have some abdominal cramping, bloating, pain or constipation. At the beginning of a diverticulitis attack, however, you typically experience significant tenderness or pain in the lower left side of your abdomen, along with nausea, vomiting, a change in bowel habits, fever and chills. When these symptoms occur, it is necessary to change from a high-fiber diet to a clear liquid diet before gradually re-introducing low-fiber foods, notes MayoClinic.com.
Identification
High-fiber foods include fruits and vegetables with seeds and skins, peas, beans and lentils. Whole-grain cereals, pastas and breads are rich in fiber as well, says Drugs.com. A clear liquid diet includes fluids you can see through, as well as foods that melt to form clear liquids at room temperature. You can safely ingest water, apple and grape juice, bouillon, ice pops and flavored gelatin for the first two to three days of a diverticulitis attack, according to MayoClinic.com. When your symptoms improve, you can eat low-fiber foods including eggs, white bread, white rice, plain pasta, tender meat or poultry, low-fiber cereals, milk, cheese, yogurt and canned fruit.
Misconceptions
A soft food diet is not the same as a low-fiber diet. Whole-grain bread, for example, is soft in texture but high in fiber and can make your diverticulitis symptoms worse. Well-cooked vegetables without seeds or skins are considered low-fiber foods, but eggplant and other vegetables that contain seeds or skin are high-fiber foods even when they are well-cooked.
Tips
Remember that the NIDDK describes fiber as the part of fruits, vegetables and grains that your body can't digest. Instead of trying to guess the amount of fiber by a food's consistency or texture, work with a dietitian or nutritionist who can provide detailed lists of foods to eat during various phases of diverticulosis and diverticulitis.
