There are new reasons to think it may indeed be OK – a sharp reversal of past advice.
For years, doctors assumed that chunky little foods such as nuts and corn were bad for people with diverticulosis or diverticulitis – diseases of the colon in which tiny pouches, which can trap undigested food, develop in the colon wall. (Diverticulosis is the mere presence of the pouches; diverticulitis is when they become inflamed.)
But doctors’ original thinking has been turned on its head by a study published last year that showed nuts, corn, and popcorn do not increase the risk.
The study was done by Dr. Lisa Strate, a gastroenterologist at the University of Washington, in Seattle, and colleagues from the Harvard School of Public Health. They sent questionnaires every four years from 1986 to 2004 to more than 47,000 male health professionals, all of whom were free of diverticulosis and diverticulitis when the study began.
They then compared men who developed the colon conditions with men who did not, and analyzed what they ate. They found no correlation between consumption of nuts, corn, and popcorn and development of diverticulosis or diverticular complications.
While that research focused on the potential risk of colon disease – rather than the effect on people who already suffer from it – the findings have prompted reconsideration of recommended diet restrictions. Whether colon disease patients can eat nuts, corn, and popcorn “needs to be revisited,” said Strate.
Nuts, in particular, are now known to be an important part of a healthy diet, she adds.
Dr. Braden Kuo, a gastroenterologist at the Digestive Healthcare Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, says, “People can rejoice. This study debunks the common perception that nuts, corn, and popcorn are bad for people with diverticulosis and diverticulitis. There is no evidence that eating these foods will make these conditions worse.”