Reduce Your Risk of Diverticulitis

The New York Times reports that eating nuts and foods with small seeds may reduce your risk of developing diverticulitis, a digestive disease that causes severe problems with the large intestines.

A new study published in the August 2008 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association analyzed over 47,000 men for a period of 18 years. The men were ages 40-75 with no previous history of diverticulitis. During the 18 years, 800 cases of diverticulitis and 380 cases of diverticular bleeding were diagnosed in the men. But, researchers found that the men who ate the most nuts at least twice a week were 20% less likely to develop diverticulitis than those who ate the least. Men who ate popcorn at least twice a week were 28% less likely to develop the disease.

The study authors suspect that these health benefits may be the result of fiber and nutrients found in nuts and light popcorn.

An interesting note: diverticulitis patients have previously been advised to avoid eating nuts, popcorn, and corn to help reduce complications with the disease. But, there isn’t a lot of proof to support this advice, and this current study suggests that nuts and popcorn actually reduce the incidence and severity of the diverticulitis.