Diverticulitus

A friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with diverticulitus. The news of this was very disturbing to me especially since I immediately knew why--the type of food they eat and the lack of fresh vegetables or anything with fiber. 

The last two months have not been easy as they have been in and out of the hospital. They have had difficulty standing and blood clots were also discovered in their lower extremities. This is not an isolated case because I also have friends with irritable bowel syndrome, Chrons disease, etc. 

Dole Nutrition recently published an article named Diverting Diverticulitus which talks about the importance of avoiding meat and highly processed foods. I have included a portion of it below:

Deemed a "disease of western civilization" due to its prevalence in countries with highly processed diets, diverticulitis is a painful inflammatory disorder manifesting in small pouches of the large intestine. Some 2.5 million Americans suffer from the ailment, causing roughly 1 million hospitalizations and 3,500 deaths annually. While a cure remains elusive, the latest research indicates that increasing fiber intake and avoiding meat might significantly reduce the risk of developing the disease in the first place.

A new study published in the British Medical Journal compared dietary intake patterns of 47,033 health-conscious adults of all ages with incidence of diverticulitis over the course of 12 years. Across all subjects, risk of diverticulitis was 42% lower among those with the highest fiber intake (over 25 grams per day) compared with those with the lowest intake (less than 14 grams per day).

What is really sad is that the typical American seems to have an aversion to eating whole foods. Most people eat a diet high in meat and fat and skip the vegetables and fiber. This is exactly the type of eating that creates diverticulitus. One of their arguments for avoiding a diet rich in vegetables and fibrous foods is that it lacks flavor or satiety.  This is most certainly not true!  If you eat a plant-based diet the foods are actually MORE flavorful! You taste the entire food in all of it’s glory--unadulterated.  The food you eat nourishes and helps to heal your body instead of creating painful and toxic diseases.