How to deal with diverticular disease

Years of constipation, straining during bowel movements and eating a low-fibre diet can take an invisible toll on the walls of your intestinal tract. Read on to learn more about a condition called diverticular disease and how to help prevent its onset.

Hard stools and repeated high-pressure "pushing" can create tiny, pea-size pouches that balloon outward. These sacs, called diverticula, can number in the hundreds — and usually cause no trouble at all. But if stool gets trapped in a pouch, the sac can become inflamed and even infected, and you have diverticulitis, which can cause intense abdominal pain, fever, nausea and constipation or diarrhea. You're even at risk for intestinal blockages or tears and for bleeding if a blood vessel near a pouch bursts. You can cut your odds of developing these troublesome pouches — and of having problems with existing ones — with these strategies.

Fruits, vegetables and whole grains packed with a type of insoluble fibre called cellulose seem to have a special talent for protecting intestinal walls from damage that leads to problems, researchers report.

These foods pack the most.

Food: Dried beans ( legumes)

Serving: 125 grams

Fibre (grams): 6.7

Cellulose (grams): 2.8

Food: Peas

Serving: 125 grams (1/2 cup)

Fibre (grams): 4.4

Cellulose (grams): 2.1

Food: Tomato sauce

Serving: 125 millilitres (1/2 cup)

Fibre (grams): 4.2

Cellulose (grams): 2.0

Food: Potato with skin

Serving: 1 medium

Fibre (grams): 4.2

Cellulose (grams): 1.6

Food: Apple

Serving: 1 medium

Fibre (grams): 3.7

Cellulose (grams): 1.0

Food: Carrots

Serving: 125 grams (1/2 cup)

Fibre (grams): 2.6

Cellulose (grams): 1.0

Food: Whole-grain cereal

Serving: 125 grams (1/2 cup)

Fibre (grams): 6.0

Cellulose (grams): 0.07

Food: Banana

Serving: 1 medium

Fibre (grams): 2.7

Cellulose (grams): 0.05

Food: Orange

Serving: 1 medium

Fibre (grams): 3.0

Cellulose (grams): 0.3

1. Get moving. Perhaps because it can prompt stools to move more swiftly through the intestinal tract, physical activity lowered the risk of diverticular disease by as much as 48 percent in one study. People who jogged got the most benefit, but any kind of exercise may help, experts say, especially if you also eat a high-fibre diet.
2. Schedule time in the bathroomStraining to have a bowel movement puts extra pressure on the intestinal walls, setting the stage for the formation of pouches. If you're prone to constipation, be sure to take advantage of a key, after-meal opportunity for a bowel movement. During the half hour or so after eating, your gastrointestinal system makes room for the new food by moving everything else farther down the line. This wave of muscle activity, called the gastrocolic reflex, often results in a bowel movement if you let it by spending a few minutes in the bathroom about 30 minutes after a meal.A
3. sk about your medicationsAsk your doctor if constipation is a common side effect of any prescription or over-the-counter medicine you're taking. Culprits include antacids that contain aluminum or calcium, antidepressants, antihistamines, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, iron supplements, opioid painkillers and pseudoephedrine (found in many cold medicines). You may be able to substitute for a different drug.
4. Lose weight. Traditionally, diverticular disease has been a problem for people over age 50, brought on by decades of low-fibre eating and constipation. But that may be changing. Thanks to the obesity epidemic, doctors are beginning to notice that people as young as 20 have the thin-walled, bulging pouches along their intestines. Yet another good reason to keep your weight in check.
5. Newest thinking. Nuts, seeds and popcorn are okay. In the past, doctors have told people with diverticular disease to avoid these nuggets, fearing that they could get stuck in the intestinal pouches. But when researchers tracked more than 47,000 men for 18 years, they found that those who ate these healthy, high-fibre foods had no extra risk of problems. In fact, those who ate popcorn twice a week had a 28 percent lower risk of flare-ups than those who indulged less than once a month, possibly because popcorn is a good source of fibre.