Yes, high sugar intake, especially refined sugars found in sweets, sodas, and pastries, can promote inflammation and worsen diverticulitis symptoms, potentially triggering flare-ups or making them more severe. Western diets high in sugar, fat, and processed foods are linked to increased risk, while a high-fiber diet with whole grains and fruits helps prevent future attacks, according to Osmosis and the Mayo Clinic.
Add the fiber gradually, since adding it to your diet too fast can cause gas and bloating. Sugar is another big culprit. It plays a part in symptomatic diverticular disease and may mimic irritable bowel syndrome.
No specific foods are known to trigger bouts of diverticulitis symptoms, also called attacks. And no special diet has been proved to prevent attacks. With diverticulitis, irregular bulging pouches in the wall of the large intestine become inflamed.
To calm down a mild diverticulitis attack:
While no specific foods are proven to trigger diverticulitis attacks, a diet rich in high-fiber foods can help maintain digestive health and reduce the risk of complications. High-fiber foods soften waste, decreasing pressure in the digestive tract. Examples include: Fruits.
Honestly, recovering from diverticulitis might take up to two weeks. In the initial days of recuperating from straightforward diverticulitis in the comfort of your home, you'll be on a liquid diet, taking it easy, and using the prescribed medications for pain relief.
The worst things for diverticulitis during a flare-up are high-fiber foods, red/processed meats, sugar, fat, alcohol, and NSAIDs like ibuprofen, as they can worsen inflammation and symptoms; instead, focus on a temporary low-fiber diet (liquids/soft foods) and gradually reintroduce fiber after healing to prevent future attacks, consulting your doctor for personalized advice.
Sweets and snacks
You can satisfy your sweet tooth on a low-residue diet. These desserts and snacks are OK to eat in moderation: Plain cakes and cookies. Gelatin, plain puddings, custard, and sherbet.
Diet tips during a diverticulitis flare-up
What causes diverticulosis and diverticulitis?
Treatment may consist of measures including: Taking painkillers to reduce discomfort. These may be over-the-counter pain medicines such as paracetamol or stronger medicines that require a prescription. Taking Buscopan may help with cramping abdominal pain.
Drinking alcohol can irritate the digestive system and trigger diverticulitis flare-ups. It's unclear if alcohol directly causes diverticular disease, but drinking more increases risk. Talk to your healthcare provider about how alcohol might interact with medications for diverticulitis.
The current understanding emphasizes a high-fiber diet for long-term management and prevention of diverticulitis, and a temporary low-fiber or clear liquid diet during an acute (severe) flare-up to allow your colon to heal. You may need antibiotics or other treatment to prevent complications.
Symptoms of a Diverticulitis Flare-Up
As it turns out, it's less important to eliminate foods, like chocolate, than it is to eat a diet with plenty of fiber and fluids. In fact, chocolate and many other foods have no known effect on the development of diverticulitis. We spoke with a proctologist and a registered dietitian to understand why.
Foods to Avoid
Foods that comply with a low residue diet:
Honey, white or brown sugar, or molasses. Any beverage is fine.
Main meals and snacks
Generally, different food may trigger flare-ups in different people; however, the common foods that may cause exacerbation of diverticulitis flare-ups to include: Processed meat. Red meat. Fried foods.
Mild, uncomplicated diverticulitis typically resolves on its own at home. "Going from a solid, heavy diet to a softer, more liquid diet for a few days usually helps ease symptoms as the body naturally clears a mild infection," Dr Warner says. More intense pain may warrant antibiotics.
Diverticulitis perforation is a medical emergency with symptoms like sudden, severe abdominal pain (often lower left), high fever, chills, rapid heart rate, nausea, vomiting, and a rigid, tender abdomen, as bowel contents leak into the abdominal cavity (peritonitis). It requires immediate medical attention, with signs of worsening infection like difficulty breathing or confusion signaling sepsis.
During the acute phase of uncomplicated diverticulitis, “bowel rest” through a clear liquid diet is advised with a goal of patient comfort. If a patient cannot advance their diet after three to five days, a follow-up appointment should be scheduled immediately.
Recurrent attacks of acute diverticulitis carry the risk of gradual scarring and fibrosis with the sequela of forming a stricture. Diverticular disease rarely causes complete obstruction.