There is a lot of confusing information about what foods to avoid if you have diverticulitis.
We recently did a survey on the End Diverticulitis website. In this survey, we asked people to rate foods based on the problem they caused. Specifically when they felt fine, that is, they had diverticulosis (as opposed to diverticulitis), so they didn’t have any pain.
Basically, diverticulosis is where you have the bursae, and diverticulitis is where the bursae are inflamed (usually sore).
These are the foods that most people said they had a problem with. Foods that would cause an outbreak of diverticulitis.
If you don’t have pain and aren’t taking any diverticulitis medications (ie, antibiotics), take a close look at these foods and food groups and try to avoid them.
These foods were rated HIGH RISK by our respondents. He would seek to exclude them from his diet. Just remember that even though most people said they caused problems, they may not cause problems with you personally. These are just the recommendations based on the survey we did for the End Diverticulitis website.
These are the foods to avoid according to the survey report.
1. Stress: Although it is not a food, it is considered the biggest problem in our survey.
2. Walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, etc.
3. Sesame seeds, this will include sesame seed buns and burgers.
4. Corn (any corn, popcorn, sweet corn, even cornmeal and tortillas)
5. Chili’s and peppers, hot and spicy.
I’d also like to add a couple of things that received specific mention, these weren’t scored because they weren’t in a question in the initial survey, but were specifically mentioned by a lot of people as a problem and something to avoid.
1. Tomato Juice V8
2. Iceberg Lettuce
3. Fried, fried or greasy foods.
4. Onions,
5. Raw vegetables
One thing that came out of the survey was that some people had no problems with even the above (except stress). So it seems that the things that affect you can be very personal.
How do you approach a diet for diverticulitis? this is not a strict rule, it is just a suggestion.
Eliminate from your diet initially.
Walnuts, corn, sesame seeds and chili peppers. Also tomato juice (V8 tomato juice was mentioned several times, however I think all tomato juice needs to be questioned). Iceberg lettuce (try other options like Cos Lettuce or baby spinach leaves, my favorite), cooked and fatty foods, onions and raw vegetables. This should immediately help reduce problems with your diverticulitis.
Nuts is fun, a lot of people say they’re no good and a lot of people say they’re okay. Bottom line (pardon the pun), leave them out to begin with and then try a few here and there. But don’t overdo it.
Skip the corn, sesame seeds, and chili peppers (or hot and spicy foods) all together.
So after you’ve eliminated them from your diet, what do you do?
Well, after all the survey responses we had, if you really miss food, when you feel good and well again, you might try it. Only in small batches, don’t overdo them. Just a few and see how it goes. Keep a food diary to see how things are progressing. But overall, things like nuts are probably okay, they were a 50/50 food in the survey, and current medical thinking suggests they’re okay.
But if you feel fine and you don’t really miss them, why bother?
There are usually loads of food options no matter where you go, so why not skip the questionable ones?
