As if we didn’t have to worry enough about what we should eat, we are now faced with the need for a diet for diverticulitis. The first question that comes to mind is to ask what it is and what causes it. In short, diverticulitis is an inflammation of the diverticula, which are small, bulging pouches within the digestive system. The most common cause of the condition is the consumption of too little dietary fiber and too many refined carbohydrates that make the waste material within the body hard and difficult to pass through the rectum. This in turn can lead to infection of the diverticula, the condition known as diverticulitis.

What is the answer to treating this disorder? What is the best diet for diverticulitis? In the time immediately following an attack, the doctor may advice you to remain mostly on liquids and to eliminate fiber from your diet in order to allow the colon and intestines to rest for a few days. After that, a diet for diverticulitis needs to include foods that are high in dietary fiber such as fruits and whole grain such as apples oranges, mangos, peas, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, whole wheat bread, bran cereals, brown rice, and others.

With many countries boasting of lands fertile for crops, how did this condition come to invade the people of the world? It surely wasn’t something that plagued people from the beginning of time, and you would be right to assume that. In the early 20th century, new methods of processing grain products removed much of the fiber from those products, and thus, consumers were not getting the same amount of fiber they were previously. As a result, diverticulitis began to take its toll on the digestive system of many people, and the need was indicated to develop a diet for diverticulitis that would reduce the symptoms and prevent further attacks. For those unable to consumer enough dietary fiber, supplements can be used to assist. Although the natural form of dietary fiber is best for the body, supplements are better than not having enough, and thus, causing an attack of diverticulitis.

With all of the processed and quick foods that have invaded our kitchens instead of the wholesome foods that our grandparents and great-grandparents ate, it’s little wonder that we have so many health problems. We should not need a diet for diverticulitis because we should already be eating those foods high in dietary fiber, but we aren’t. It’s easier to prepare the processed and pop-in-the-oven foods than to take the time to cook wholesome foods that have all of the nutrients we need. Of course, sadly, much of that has to do with our economy, and the fact that women aren’t home all day to cook as they were in the early part of the 20th century. Of course, we may not have the time to cook all day as we did, but we can still eat healthy. Whole grains like brown rice and whole wheat bread instead of white rice and white bread. We can learn to cook with whole wheat flour and eat cereals that are high in fiber instead of high in sugar. Following a diet for diverticulitis is no more than learning to adjust our eating habits and substituting unhealthy foods for healthy ones.