William Atkins
Wednesday, 27 August 2008 20:31
Science -
Health
Page 1 of 3
Physicians have long warned people not to eat nuts, popcorn, and corn if at risk for diverticulitis, a condition where small pouches develop in the colon. However, a new study says such a warning is nutty; in fact, it’s just the opposite: eat all you want to lower your risk.
Dr.
Lisa L. Strate (of the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, and the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, both in Seattle) and her colleagues state,
“Patients with diverticular disease are frequently advised to avoid eating nuts, corn, popcorn, and seeds to reduce the risk of complications. However, there is little evidence to support this recommendation.”
According to the WebMD article “
Nuts Don't Up Risk of Diverticulitis,”
“About a third of Americans will develop small pouches of the colon, a condition known as diverticulosis, by the time they reach age 60; two-thirds have the pouches by age 85.”
Of these people, over 25% will advance to
diverticulitis, a serious condition that can result in intense pain in the area of the abdomen, along with symptoms of vomiting, cramping, and nausea.
Because of this, physicians have advised patients for over fifty years to refrain from eating nuts, corn, popcorn, seeds (such as from tomatoes, etc.), and other similar foods if they are at risk for developing pouches in their intestines and diverticulitis.
The reasoning for this medical advice was that such foods are difficult to digest, could become trapped in these pouches, and compound the problems of diverticulosis.
However, Dr. Strate comments,
“It is not exactly clear where this idea came from because there are no studies showing this to be the case. It just became a part of medical lore." [WebMD]
Please read page two for the specifics about reversing this "urban legend" belief.
