Do you feel bloated all the time? Do you suffer from chronic abdominal pain? If this sounds anything like you, you might want to visit your physician. Diverticulitis or Diverticula is an IBD or Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which usually affects the colon.
So, what exactly happens during Diverticula? And what about the simple home remedies to treat Diverticula? You will find answers to all these questions in this post! Read on!
Typically segments of the colon push up, forming small bulging pouches all through the lining of the colon. Although these pouches are quite mild and don’t cause many problems, when food and other waste material get stuck in these pouches, it can lead to inflammation and burning sensations. Diverticulitis has no notable symptoms, and the only way to know for sure is through regular health checkups.
Usually, a low fiber diet can result in diverticula. When you don’t eat the adequate amount of fiber, you suffer from hard stools, which usually push up against the colon lining, resulting in injuries and often leading to diverticula (1).
There are some home remedies that you can use to treat mild forms of diverticula, but remember to consult a doctor at once, if the inflammation turns severe.
Barley is one grain that helps you digest food. It is also a potent anti-inflammatory. These properties make it an excellent natural remedy for diverticula. This grain is a digestive and an anti-inflammatory. You can add barley to your vegetables or even soup (2).
Brown Rice is one of the best home remedies for diverticula. It is rich in fiber, and is a known anti-inflammatory agent. You can either boil this or stir fry brown rice with vegetables. You can even substitute it with your daily oatmeal. Go ahead, be creative, come up with your own way of preparing brown rice (3)!
Garlic has strong anti-inflammatory properties, and it helps prevent infection. Eat one raw clove of garlic every day. You can use it in salad, or even add it to food. Remember that heat destroys garlic’s many benefits. Don’t eat spicy food crammed with garlic, as acidic food will only exacerbate the symptoms and the inflammation (4).
Papaya soothes the symptoms of diverticula. Skin a lovely orange papaya and deseed it before you eat it. You can also blend papaya in a food processer, or toss it in a fruit salad. Papaya is probably the best tasting food on this list (5).
Pears also help soothe inflammation. Unlike papayas though, you don’t need to reach for the knife and skin it. Just rinse it under water and enjoy (6).
This popular vegetable is probably the most widely one used in the world. Everyone loves potatoes. They have many antioxidant and anti-inflammatory characteristics. They are good digestives and can help ease digestion problems. As grease exacerbates the symptoms of diverticula, refrain from your favourite golden fried potato. Consider other methods of cooking them like broiling, baking or boiling. Potato is high in potassium, and is a good source of energy (7).
Oat Bran is another rich source of dietary fiber that helps ease the effects of diverticula. It provides the much needed roughage in the diet, and oat is hypoallergenic. People with wheat allergies can easily consume oat bran (8).
Flaxseed or linseed is crammed with omega-3s and other nutrients. It has also been found to be an effective cure for diverticula (9).
This is certainly not one of the palatable options for treatment, but asparagus’ natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties make it an ideal remedy for diverticula (10).
Lettuce is a rich source of dietary fiber and low in residue. The best diet to alleviate diverticula is usually a food group that is high in dietary fiber and low in residue. Lettuce, rich in antioxidants and having anti-inflammatory properties, is probably the best remedy for diverticulitis (11).
So what are you waiting for! Try any one of these foods and treat your diverticula today. Do you know any other diverticulitis remedies? Please share with us in the comments section below!