Diverticulitis is a gastrointestinal tract disorder that primarily affects the colon. Pockets of holes called diverticula develop from the colon wall and often on the weakest areas of the bowel system. The pockets penetrate through the bowel walls particularly in areas with a large numbers of blood vessels passing through and in areas that are narrower mostly in the sigmoid colon. The need for a diverticulitis diet becomes a necessary part of diverticulitis treatment since once an individual does not observe proper diet that is most appropriate to such condition it can possibly develop into peritonitis, a complication that spreads the infection to the abdominal cavity which can become a fatal condition.

The principle behind the diverticulitis diet is to provide the person with a diverticulitis a high fiber diet in order to reduce the risk of irritating the bowels. A contrasting food intake from a diverticulitis diet may increase the chance for the food to get caught on the diverticula and will cause further problems on the person’s health condition, so following this diet plan is important. The diverticulitis diet is provided as treatment for people affected by the condition who are usually individuals more than 60 years old but it can also afflict individuals who are as young as 20.

At the initial phase of the condition, a diverticulitis diet is comprised of a low residue diet that will promote decrease in bowel movement to pave the way for the reduction of the infection and to promote healing of the inflamed diverticula.The low fiber diverticulitis diet consists of a daily food intake that is less than 10 grams of fiber. Individuals who are on a a low fiber diverticulitis diet will need daily mineral and vitamin supplements throughout the diet.

As the symptoms of a person improve they can begin to start a high fiber diverticulitis diet by increasing their fiber intake from 5 to 15 grams daily. This is very important as it will allow the digestive system to adjust to the changes in their fiber diet. The high fiber diverticulitis diet is a necessary preventive measure against future diverticulitis attack while the low fiber diverticulitis diet is aimed to promote healing of the digestive system during the acute stage of diverticulitis.