Diverticulosis Diet: Help Beat Diverticular Disease

In our society today there are many things that all people know they have to be careful about. Their cholesterol counts are easy to find out as are the readings of their blood pressure. Is there too much salt in your diet? Of course we are all well aware of these issues but ask anyone about diverticular disease and most likely it will be followed by a blank stare. Even though diverticulitis is a very common ailment, few people have any idea exactly what the disease actually is and better yet how it can be prevented.

It is a fact that about 1 in 3 people suffer from the problem of diverticulosis, yet since it has very few symptoms it is never recognized until it develops into a case of diverticulitis. Then the symptoms are very painful and noticeable and it can affect your life. The best part of this is that the disease can be completely avoided if a person makes an effort to concentrate on their diet and eat a bit better in their lives.

What is Diverticulitis?
One of the reasons that people don't discuss diverticulitis is that it is a disease of the colon and that makes some people uncomfortable. In fact when most people think of their colon they are worried about developing polyps that can lead to cancers, these develop from epithelial cells. There is no thought to the more common development of diverticula which are sac like pouches that protrude from the otherwise smooth muscular wall of the colon. In most people these problems develop where the colon is at its narrowest, this area is known as the sigmoid. When diverticula become inflamed that is known as diverticulitis. This is a disease of modern times as was unheard of in the Western world a hundred years ago. Now it is very common in Europe and the United States, it is the most common affliction of the colon but in the year 1900 not one person had ever suffered from it. The reasons are that the diets of people changed as the world became more industrialized.