Understanding What Triggers Diverticulitis

Learning What Types of Food to Avoid

In order to prevent intestinal inflammation and infection, doctors recommend avoiding any hard-to-digest foods that could become lodged in the folds of the intestines. This includes avoiding:

• Nuts (pistachios, pecans, peanuts, almonds, etc)
• Seeds (sesame seeds, sunflower seeds)
• Certain fruits (small-seeded berries, such as strawberries & raspberries) and hard dehydrated fruit like banana chips
• Certain juices, unless you further strain them with a fine mesh colander

What Foods to Include

Now that you know what to avoid, you may think that you’re limited in options, but there are still so many good things to eat!

Include foods high in fiber to your meals:

• Cooked beans
• Roasted, sauteed, and steamed vegetables
• Leafy greens and lettuces
• Whole grain pasta, rice, and bread
• Spiralized vegetable noodles
• Roasted and mashed squash and root veggies (remove skins)

Snack options include:

• Canned fruits such as peaches or pears
• Applesauce, pudding, jello, yogurt
  
• Ripe bananas, cantaloupe and honeydew
• Dried fruits such as mango, apples, apricots, prunes
• Whole-grain cereals
• Whole-grain pretzels and other baked chips
• Fruit-packed smoothies
• Seaweed snacks, pickled veggies,