The Lifestyle of Someone Who Is Preventing Diverticulitis

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If you have ever suffered from diverticulitis you will understand the desire to do all you can to prevent it reoccurring. This prevention desire will lead you to a make some lifestyle changes including diet, avoidance of those things that cause stress, and learning how to stay active.

The lifestyle changes you make to avoid getting diverticulitis again will allow you to keep your stools big and soft by allowing them to move at a normal pace through your colon. You want to avoid the things that will slow it down.

Diet:

Avoiding certain foods. There seems to be five foods that typically cause trouble in those who have had diverticulitis. This doesn’t mean necessarily that these foods will cause you trouble, but avoiding them and seeing it that helps, may be something worthwhile to try. Most people seem to have trouble with corn and corn products so check labels when buying food and if corn is listed, avoid it. Spicy foods such as those containing Chile peppers, hot peppers and chilies often cause problems so avoid these and any spicy foods. Some people suggest avoiding sesame seeds on buns and some not all people tend to have difficulty with nuts of any kind.

Safe foods to eat when you are avoiding diverticulitis are chicken, potatoes as long as they do not have skins on them, carrots, fish, and bananas.

Basically there are 3 diverticulitis diets the high fiber, low fiber and no fiber diets. Individuals who are not experiencing any symptoms of diverticulitis (abdominal discomfort, constipation) should eat a high fiber diet to stay healthy. Those individuals who are thinking that they may be headed towards diverticulitis should eat a low fiber diet (peel the skin off of apples and oranges) for example and avoid high fiber foods. Those who are on antibiotics should also follow doctor instructions regarding diet, if your diverticulitis is severe you will probably be on a no fiber diet or if you need to let your colon heal you will also need to be on a no fiber diet or a liquid diet (temporarily). Always have a doctor advise you when on a liquid diet as they can be dangerous if you are on them for more than a day or two.

Staying active and exercising on a regular basis will also help your colon too.

Always make sure that you are taking in adequate amounts of water and when on a high fiber diet you need to be taking in a lot of water.

Avoiding Stress:

Stress can mean many things to different people from stress regarding work, relationship trouble, financial difficulties, and school and job deadlines. Whatever the stress in your life, you must learn to deal with it in such a way as to release it from your life so that it cannot bind your abdomen with pain.

Staying Active:

Our bodies need movement to function properly. Those who desire to prevent diverticulitis should exercise at least 3 to 4 times each week for more than 30 minutes each time.