A low-fiber diet may increase your risk of diverticulosis, the development of small, balloon-like herniations in your intestinal lining. When one of these sacs becomes irritated or infected, diverticulosis can advance to diverticulitis, a condition that may cause abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea and fever. Increasing the amount of fiber in your diet may prevent the formation of these pouches, or diverticula, which occur most commonly in your large intestine. However, if you are experiencing acute diverticulitis, your doctor may advise you to avoid high-fiber foods until your symptoms have improved.
During an Attack
Your rate of recovery from a diverticulitis attack will determine when you can add more fiber to your diet. When abdominal cramps, nausea and fever are at their worst, your doctor may advise you to follow a clear liquid diet to allow your large intestine, or colon, to rest during medical treatment. A clear liquid diet consists of fluids that you can see through, such as apple or cranberry juice, tea or coffee without milk, water, clear broth or bouillon. Plain gelatin and ice pops without fruit pulp may also be included on a clear liquid diet. As your symptoms subside, you may advance to soft, low-fiber foods, such as tender chicken or fish, white bread, potatoes, rice, yogurt, canned fruit and vegetables. When your symptoms have resolved, your doctor will advise you when you can begin increasing the amount of fiber in your diet.
Benefits of Fiber
Diverticulosis is common in developed countries, where the typical diet is high in refined flour and sugar and other processed foods, notes the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Eating high-fiber foods can help prevent constipation, which may contribute to diverticulosis. Although the exact cause of diverticulosis is unknown, pressure exerted while straining to pass dry, hard stools may promote the formation of these pouches. Fiber softens digestive wastes and helps them pass more easily through your intestinal tract, so that you don't have to strain to have a bowel movement.
Adding Fiber
After a diverticulitis attack, your symptoms may start to improve within two to three days after you've started antibiotic therapy or other medical treatment for the condition. After your doctor has cleared you to progress to a high-fiber diet, increase the amount of fiber in your diet gradually until you're consuming 38 g each day if you're a man or 25 g each day if you're a woman. Foods such as brown or wild rice, lentils and beans, vegetables and fruits and wheat bran cereal are high in fiber. To help your intestinal tract process the extra fiber and prevent constipation, drink at least eight glasses of water each day.
Preventing Attacks
Up to half of Americans over the age of 60 have diverticulosis, according to the NDDIC, but many of these people may never experience symptoms. Although a high-fiber diet may reduce your risk of developing herniated pouches in your intestinal lining, clinical evidence does not prove that a high-fiber diet will prevent a diverticulitis attack once you've developed diverticular disease, notes an article published in the July 2009 issue of "The Journal of Family Practice." However, the article doesn't dismiss the possibility that a high-fiber diet may help to reduce your risk of another flare-up. High-fiber foods, such as popcorn and nuts, which doctors once told their patients with diverticulitis to avoid, may have a protective effect on your intestinal tract.
