What is Diverticulosis? Causes of Diverticulosis Treatment of Diverticulosis What is Diverticulitis Treatment of Diverticulitis Diagnosing Diverticular Disease Complications Surgery Table of High Fibre Foods Diet for Diverticular Disease

What is Diverticulosis? 
 

Diverticulosis is a condition, rather than a disease. It affects the large intestine, or colon. A normal colon is quite strong and almost completely  smooth. A colon affected by diverticulosis has weak spots in the walls.  The wall of the colon then  bulges outward through weak spots causeing a pocket to appear.  Each little pouch is called a DIVERTICULUM.  When there is more than one pouch they are called DIVERTICULA. If your colon has diverticula then you have a condtion called DIVERTICULOSIS.  Diverticulosis is very common and about 50% of people in North America between the ages of 60 and 80 have it and approximately 10% or so of people under the age of 40 do as well.   Although diverticulosis can occur anywhere in the colon, 80% are found in the lower left side - called the sigmoid colon - because that is where the colon is the narrowest and the inner pressure the highest.

When these little pouches, or diverticula, become inflamed, you then have something called DIVERTICULITIS.
About 10 to 25% of people who have diverticulosis will develope diverticulitis.

Diverticulosis and diverticulitis are also called DIVERTICULAR DISEASE.

Causes of Diverticulosis If you have diverticulosis then there is a very good chance that you have not been eating properly for good colon maintainance.  Prior to the 1900s people didn't have to worry about this annoying condition that had become so prevalent in "developed" countries.  Why?  During the 1900 we discovered how to process food.  All of a sudden we were using refined white flour instead of the whole wheat flours that contained the wheat bran.  Food was highly processed to "last longer" or to be more convenient.  Fibre started to disappear from our "industrialized" diets.  When fibre left, diverticulosis moved in.

Fiber is the part of fruits, vegetables, and grains that the body cannot digest. Some fiber dissolves easily in water (soluble fiber). It takes on a soft, jelly-like texture in the intestines. Some fiber passes almost unchanged through the intestines (insoluble fiber). Both kinds of fiber help make stools soft and easy to pass. Fiber also prevents constipation. 

Constipation makes the muscles strain to move stool that is too hard. It is the main cause of increased pressure in the colon. The excess pressure causes the weak spots in the colon to bulge out and become diverticula. 

If you have beean diagnosed with, or if the doctore suspects you may have diverticulosis then there are a a couple of things you should do to prevent it from developing into anything else.   Increasing the amount of fiber in your diet will reduce reduce the symptoms of diverticulosis and prevent diverticulitis from developing.  Fiber keeps your stool soft and lowers the pressure inside your colon so your bowel contents flow easily and comfrotabley through the intestine.  The recommended amount of fibre is 25 to 30 grams a day and that can easily be realized simply by eating more fruit and vegetables, especially those that have had their skin left on.

Now that you have decided to put more fiber in your food, don't be too enthusiatic about it.  You have to remember to go slowly.  Bombarding a system that is not used to a great deal of fiber will protest by producing gas, lots of gas.  You may also find that you are bloating and uncomfortable.   Go slowly and start will small amounts added daily until your systems learns to tolerate it all over again.

Your doctor may also suggest taking a fibre product such as Metamucil, Citucil, Prodiem or Fibre-Lax. Metamucil and Citrucel can be mixed with water or juice, Prodiem or Fiber-Lax are pills that can be swallowed.  Names of products will vary from country to country. 

Doctors used to tell you to avoid eating foods with small seeds like tomatoes or strawberries so that the seeds would not lodge in the diverticula and cause inflammation.  Apparenlty this is no longer suggested by all doctors and has become rather controversial since no evidence seems to support this recommendation.

Some people will still have problems with cramping and bloating and you can ask your doctore to prescribe medication that will help.  You must remember though that many of these medications (any medications) can have an impact on the bowel causing either constipation in the case of many pain relievers or diarhea.  Neither of these side effects are good for people with diverticulosis.
 

What is Diverticulitis

Diverticulitis occurs when the diverticula become infected or inflamed. So far the medical profession is not quite sure why the diverticula become inflammed.  It probably occurs when stool and bacteria are caught in the little pouches and cannot be pushed through the intestine. 
 

Treatment of Diverticulitis

When diverticulitis occurs, simple bowel rest and antibiotics can usually abort a mild attack. In many cases the diverticulitis will respond to treatment and the patient will be quite back to normal in 4 or 5 days. To help the bowel rest, your doctor may tell you to go to bed and rest and just drink clear fluids for 2 or 3 days.   After that, a diet that is very LOW in fiber may be suggested for up to 10 days to make sure the inflammation is completely gone and the bowel has healed.   In severe cases your doctore will put you in the hospital and administer antibiotics through an IV or into your vein and limit your intake to liquids.  Most people will recover from a bout of diverticulitis without the need of any invasive treatments but occassionaly surgery is required to remove the affected part of the colon.  After the bad section(s) are removed the healthy ends are then reconnected.    The most common reason for surgery is to stop repeated episodes of pain, bleeding, or diverticulitis.