Health Diet - Diet to Reduce the Symptoms of Diverticular Disease

What is Diverticular Disease?

There are 3 different medical terms for this disease:

1) Diverticulosisr
2) Diverticular disease
3) Diverticulitis

Diverticulosis - this is the term used to describe people with diverticula [small pouches that form outward on the weaker spots of the large intestine], these people do not show the normal signs of this disease and are only diagnosed with diverticulosis after they undergo tests or scans for some other medical problem.

Diverticular disease - named this as the diverticula are starting to cause chronic symptoms like bloating, wind, diarrhea and constipation.

Diverticulitis - this is the inflammation of the diverticula and is now causing chronic illness in the patient. The following are just a few examples of symptoms: nausea, vomiting, frequency in urination, change in bowel habits, fevers, abdominal pain [below belly button, moving to lower left] etc. These symptoms can come and go, so you may go for days without any discomfort at all.

Diet information

It is believed that a diet low in fibre is the main cause of this disease. So we have to look at increasing our daily fibre intake.

Foods high in fibre [listed under fibre types] that need to be included in our daily food consumption are as follows:

Cellulose:

peasrnbranrnlegumesrnmost fruitsrnroot vegetablesrncabbage familyrncovering of seeds

Polyfructoses [inulins and oligofruc-tans]:

onionsrnsoybeanrngarlicrnartichokes

Hemicellulose:

cereal fiber [found in bran and whole grains]

Mucilage's:

gelatinous substance [found in most plants]

Pectin's [water-soluble or gel-forming substances]:

applesrnstrawberriesrncitrus fruits

Gum [substances secreted by a injured plant and composed of various sugars and sugar derivatives]:

oatmealrnbarleyrnlegumes

Lignin [primary noncarbohydrate component of fiber]:

Highest in - mature root vegetables [like carrots] and fruits with edible seeds [like strawberries]

There a some starches that are classified as fibre, these are because the body does not digest these starches [known as resistant starches], these are commonly found in legumes. bananas and potatoes.

I have not named all the different vegetables or fruits under the fibre lists above, but I am sure you get the general idea on how fibers are classified into different types.

For your convenience and for those who are not sure about the information above, here is a list of all the high fibre foods I can remember.

* Asparagus - fresh or cooked * Peach - fresh * Pear - fresh * Pineapple - fresh * Tangerine- fresh * Blueberries * Cranberries * Raspberries * Broccoli - fresh or cooked * Brussels sprouts - fresh or cooked * Celery - fresh * Romaine lettuce * Spinach - fresh or cooked * Summer squash - cooked * Tomato - raw * Lima beans - fresh and cooked * Potato- fresh and cooked * Bread, whole-wheat - 1 slice per sitting * Brown rice - cooked * Cereal - bran or flakes * Oatmeal - plain and cooked * White rice - cooked * Winter squash - cooked * Baked beans - canned and plain * Kidney beans - fresh and cooked * Cabbage - fresh or cooked * Carrot - fresh or cooked * Cauliflower - fresh or cooked

Fibre explained

Our body cannot digest everything we eat [even though it is edible and tasty], so fibre is the part of fruit, grains or veggies that the body does not absorb. There are two kinds of fibre - soluble and insoluble, and both are needed by the intestine to make it soft and easy to pass stools. Though fibre is not considered nutritious it does assist the bowel by preventing constipation and hard stools. This constipation and muscle strain is believed to be one of the main causes of diverticula.

The Dietetic Ass of the USA recommends a daily intake of around 35 grams of fibre to assist with the reduction of the symptoms of this disease.

NOTE: with the extra intake of fibre you will need to drink more water.

REMEMBER - the information above is to ease the signs and symptoms of diverticular disease and is not a cure. If you find the diet change does not help your symptoms please consult your doctor for medical treatment.