I need some information on diverticulitis and low carbing. I responded to a forum at about.com, and a lady said her hubby had diver. and that their doctor told them that "low carb diets bring on diverticulitis". What is the scoop on this?? He told her hubby to stop the low carb, and start eating all kinds of cereal, grains, etc., for fiber!! Well, then I called a local internist who I know socially, and he told me that if you are not getting enough fiber, that diverticulitis may result. So....since then, I have been getting all kinds of email, etc., from people that are saying that a low carb lifestyle gives you diverticulitis. Personally, I think the hubby wasn't eating any carbs, let alone cruciferous veggies and other low carb fiber, but while I am at it, how much fiber is needed, and what are good things to eat in order to get your fiber? Thanks for any information. P.S. I'm so tired of all the nay sayers and each different horrible disease they come up with because they can't understand lowcarb lifestyle. Is everyone hearing all these things, or is it just me??? Pam

I'm not an expert on diverticulitis, but a friend who has converted to LC has it. He needs to consume a certain amount of fiber each day which he supplements with psyllium husks. So far, he is very pleased with the results and his symptoms have decreased.

I think LC gets a bad rap from people who follow it badly and may have gotten into trouble because of it. Extremes of any sort for an extended period of time are not a good thing.

Browse through the carbohydrate counter in low-carb tools. You can find the fiber counts there too.

Karen

You can get into trouble with diverticulitis while lo-carbing if you allow yourself to get too constipated and find yourself straining quite a bit. The straining over and over can cause incredible pressure in your colon, causing little pockets to balloon out, which are called diverticuli. This doesn't happen overnight however, and is usually the culmination of many years of this and a predisposition to them. The condition of just having these little balloons or pockets is called diverticulosis. When the little pockets get infected, diverticulitis results. There's more to it, but that's pretty much what I remember about it.

Moral of the story: take care of your bowel - take fiber and drink plenty of water.

There's a fair bit of research being done to show that diverticular disease, and other inflammatory bowel diseases are caused by bacterial overgrowth in the large intestine. And what does bacteria feed on?? SUGAR!!

Get rid of the sugar, and the refined flours and grain products. It might be helpful also to avoid dairy products and cheese for a while too, since the small amounts of lactose can be an aggravating factor.

I wrote a brief review of the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle : Intestinal Health Through Diet", which details the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), being used successfully for many patients, including Crohn's and ulcerative colitis. You can read it here. As well, there is a website devoted to the SCD, with up-to-date research, recipes and a message board. http://www.scdiet.org/

Psyllium husks, and the fiber in salads and vegetables will be helpful, as well there's nuts and their butters, seeds (best to grind them, so they don't get "stuck" in the diverticular out-pouchings) .. flax is wonderful.

Plus losing weight in and of itself will bring relief, since there's less stress and pressure on the abdomen.

Doreen

Yea, I think that the diver was probably there already (prior to starting LC). I also have it, and I know it runs in my family on both sides. I think I've had it for a long long time, but never really had problems with it, or when I did, I thought it was food poisening. Anyway, you can have the pockets, but they don't cause problems unless one of them gets inflammed and infected.

I just had a colonoscopy done and it showed I have it, but it has not bothered me at all since I've been on this wol, almost a year now.

There are lots of ways to get fiber without consuming carbs.

Laurie

Hey Laurie - no journal so I'll have to say happy birthday here and hope you come back - welcome (a little belated) and welcome sorry to hear abut your probs - hope you'll be able to cope and get some more fibre.

Anyway - I am almost your age and wanted to know what it feels like

Have a happy one!!

I have been going thru a health crisis the last few weeks. I went to the ER and they did an EKG and took blood and found nothing. When I eat, my heart begins to pound and race, my entire abdominal area becomes painful and bloated. This goes on for hours sometimes. I've been living on juiced veggies, water and tea because I couldn't get into to see a 'regular' doc until next Tuesday. I have NO IDEA what's going on here, never have had such weird symptoms in my life.

Anyone have a clue? Anyone experienced syptoms like these before? Been LCing for awhile now, I drink almost a gallon of pure water every day and I walk 30 minutes almost every day.

I'm going through all the forums and web sites, looking at the symptoms for IBS, Chron's disease, hernias, diverticulitis, gallbladder, etc. I know the docs will run tests, but even they don't know everything and for the most part, are pretty standard in their care....drugs and surgery. Phooey!

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry to hear of all your symptions. Good luck at the doc next tuesday - not sure if I'd wait that long.
But could be a hiatus hernia - my mum had similar symptoms and that is what she has. Hmmm dunno!! It is very common in the 50+ age group ( I know you are only just in that bracket)

Let us know how things work out for you!! Come visit my journal as you don't have one - I can't visit there.
Try this website: hiatus hernia

might be of some use..

Thanks for the info and good wishes, Wendye!

The doctor was a big waste. She poked around my tummy area and decided it she didn't know what it was.

So, I healing myself with veggie juices, herbal teas, etc. I am able to eat now and am almost symptom free!

Quite a scare though!

Now I'm trying to figure out how to work veggie juicing into a low carb plan!

I just wanted to add my two cents to this thread.

I went yesterday for colonoscopy not because I have had symptoms of anything, just because I turned 50 and Dr. wanted a baseline.

Results were, no polyps, hemorrhoids (internal) and Diverticulosis.

When I started LCing back in February I was terribly constipated and did strain to have a bowel movement. I have had no symptoms other then constipation.

Since adding psyllium husk powder to my protein shakes twice a day and eating a lot of fruit and veggies that are high in fiber the BM's are better.

Just goes to show you that even though you think you are doing all the right things you never really know for sure.