Archive for September, 2008
September 26th, 2008 -- Posted in Diverticulitis Diet |
Do you find yourself struggling to stay on your diverticulitis diet? Do you sometimes find yourself thinking it’s too hard to be consistent? Or, are you simply looking for more information about the causes and treatments for diverticulitis?
Good news! I found a great book a couple of days ago. The Doctor’s Guide to Gastrointestinal Health is a complete, easy-to-read book that gives you all the information you need to be successful.
In 285 fast-moving pages, Dr. Paul Miskovitz tells you why diverticulitis happens, what the symptoms are, how to treat it, and how to monitor to make sure it doesn’t cause you trouble ever again.
Dr. Miskovitz is Clinical Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College at Cornell University. That means he’s the doctor who teaches other doctors, so you can be certain he knows what he’s talking about.
Looking at the book, I see testimonials by prominent people like Diane Sawyer and Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld. Dr. Rosenfeld calls the book “An important, practical, easy-to-read, and easy-to-understand source of information for anyone with a chronic gastrointestinal problem.”
If you have questions that your own doctor hasn’t answered, grab your copy of The Doctor’s Guide to Gastrointestinal Health today!
Technorati Tags: Diverticulitis Diet, diverticulosis diet
September 14th, 2008 -- Posted in Diverticulitis Diet |
Once you’ve moved past the acute stage of treating your diverticulitis, your doctor will probably want you to transition to a high fiber diet. High fiber helps prevent diverticula from forming, and it helps move foods through your digestive system to prevent other problems.
Most doctors tell their patients to aim for thirty or more grams of dietary fiber per day. Beyond that, much of the literature actually says that you should aim for as much as sixty grams per day!
How do you get that much fiber? Especially when you consider that many of the staples of the typical American diet, like beef and pork, don’t have any fiber at all?
This question can be daunting. Right now, when you’re already going through so many other changes because of your diverticulitis, are you supposed to give up your favorite foods?
First, let’s take a look at some high-fiber foods so that you can see that it’s possible to meet your goal:
Black Beans 19 grams of fiber/cup
Kidney Beans 18 grams of fiber/cup
High-fiber bread 7 grams/slice
Whole wheat bread 6 grams/slice
All-Bran Cereal 10 grams/half cup serving
Green peas 9 grams/half cup
This list could be much longer. The point is that it is truly possible for you to find foods that get you to your goal. For example, you could consume 30 grams of fiber per day merely by having All-Bran cereal for breakfast, Black Beans at dinner, and pretty much anything you can think of at lunch!
But the question is still out there, do you have to give up your favorite foods to get your fiber? And fortunately, the answer is that No, you don’t.
The #1 strategy that experts recommend, is that you make sure you eat your high fiber foods first, at every meal. At breakfast, eat your cereal first. Then if you still have room for something else, have those scrambled eggs.
At lunch, grab an apple or a banana first, before you decide to stop for a burger. At dinner, get your high-fiber spaghetti before you indulge in some of that steak.
This “give yourself a treat” strategy is a great strategy that makes sure you meet your goal.
September 14th, 2008 -- Posted in Diverticulitis Diet |
Once you’ve moved past the acute stage of treating your diverticulitis, your doctor will probably want you to transition to a high fiber diet. High fiber helps prevent diverticula from forming, and it helps move foods through your digestive system to prevent other problems.
Most doctors tell their patients to aim for thirty or more grams of dietary fiber per day. Beyond that, much of the literature actually says that you should aim for as much as sixty grams per day!
How do you get that much fiber? Especially when you consider that many of the staples of the typical American diet, like beef and pork, don’t have any fiber at all?
This question can be daunting. Right now, when you’re already going through so many other changes because of your diverticulitis, are you supposed to give up your favorite foods?
First, let’s take a look at some high-fiber foods so that you can see that it’s possible to meet your goal:
Black Beans 19 grams of fiber/cup
Kidney Beans 18 grams of fiber/cup
High-fiber bread 7 grams/slice
Whole wheat bread 6 grams/slice
All-Bran Cereal 10 grams/half cup serving
Green peas 9 grams/half cup
This list could be much longer. The point is that it is truly possible for you to find foods that get you to your goal. For example, you could consume 30 grams of fiber per day merely by having All-Bran cereal for breakfast, Black Beans at dinner, and pretty much anything you can think of at lunch!
But the question is still out there, do you have to give up your favorite foods to get your fiber? And fortunately, the answer is that No, you don’t.
The #1 strategy that experts recommend, is that you make sure you eat your high fiber foods first, at every meal. At breakfast, eat your cereal first. Then if you still have room for something else, have those scrambled eggs.
At lunch, grab an apple or a banana first, before you decide to stop for a burger. At dinner, get your high-fiber spaghetti before you indulge in some of that steak.
This “give yourself a treat” strategy is a great strategy that makes sure you meet your goal.
September 13th, 2008 -- Posted in Diverticulitis Diet |
Even though they have similar names, a Diverticulitis Diet is not the same as a Diverticulosis Diet.
Both times, the culprit is something your doctor will call a “diverticula.” It’s a pocket, or bubble, in the side of your colon.
Most people who have diverticula live their whole lives never knowing they have them, and never having any symptoms or ill effects. The problem happens if one of those diverticula someday develops a leak, or a hole, that allows material to pass from inside your colon outside to your abdomen.
If that happens, you’re likely to develop a serious infection. Some people have even died from the infection, so it’s important to get it treated and to take care of it.
As far as “Diverticulosis” vs “Diverticulitis”, here’s the difference:
Diverticulosis: No leaks or perforations.
Diverticulitis: At least one leak or perforation.
As for the dietary difference, the biggest one is dietary fiber. One of the best ways to prevent diverticula (and therefor avoid diverticulosis) is to eat a lot of fiber. That’s what people call a “diverticulosis diet.”
But if you already have diverticula, and one or more of them has a leak in it (or, if you’ve been treated for the problem in the past), then high fiber may be precisely the wrong thing to do!
Remember what dietary fiber is. It’s the rough material that your body can’t digest. That rough texture, when put up against the weak walls of diverticula that are leaking, is very likely to make your diverticulitis worse.
That means that during a crisis, your “diverticulitis diet” is one that is low in fiber. Totally the opposite of a “diverticulosis diet”.
Then, after your doctor gives you the all-clear, you switch back to a high fiber diverticulitis diet.
How do you reduce the amount of fiber in your diet during a crisis? The solution is to make simple substitutions.
Instead of high-fiber whole wheat bread, buy white bread or English Muffins. Instead of bananas, buy cherries. Instead of orange juice with pulp, buy orange juice without pulp.
September 10th, 2008 -- Posted in Diverticulitis Diet |
If you’re starting to use a diverticulitis diet, there are some important things you need to know before you begin. Just follow these five tips for diverticulitis diet success.
1. A important factor when you start to use a diverticulitis diet is making sure that you stock up on healthy foods. The reason why this is important is because if you run out of good stuff in your pantry, you’re going to eat whatever you have in the house — even if it’s bad for your diverticulitis. If you don’t have good foods to choose from, then you run the risk of falling back into the bad habits you’re trying to break.
2. Another important consideration for diverticulitis diet success is your choice of restaurants. It’s critical that you can find healthy choices on the menu, because if you can’t you’ll end up eating the same foods that contributed to your diverticulitis in the first place. If you make sure that you go to a restaurant that has foods that support your plan, then you’ll be fine.
3. You don’t have to starve when you use a diverticulitis diet. All you need to do is substitute new choices for some of your old foods and make sure that you avoid the really bad stuff.
4. Instead of complicating your diverticulitis diet efforts by changing everything all at once and adopting strange and exotic habits, try it this way: continue to shop at your neighborhood supermarket and simply make a shopping list before you leave your house. In fact, if you plan ahead, then you will find that your shopping is fast and easy.
5. Have you considered buying organic produce? It’s not as difficult as you might think. Many neighborhood supermarkets are starting to carry organics, and you’ll often find that those fruits and vegetables are fresher and tastier than the conventional ones.
So if you really want to succeed with your diverticulitis diet, follow these tips to get started easily and turn a chore into a pleasure!
Technorati Tags: Diverticulitis Diet