MONDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) -- Contrary to conventional wisdom, nut and corn consumption does not increase the risk of complications in patients with diverticulitis, and frequent popcorn consumption may even help reduce the risk of diverticulitis, according to research presented this week at the Digestive Disease Week conference in Washington, D.C.
Lisa L. Strate, M.D., of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, and colleagues analyzed data on 47,454 men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and identified 445 cases of diverticular bleeding, 651 cases of symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease and 865 cases of diverticulitis that developed during 18 years of follow-up.
The researchers found no association between consumption of any combination of nuts, corn and popcorn and an increased risk for diverticular bleeding, symptomatic uncomplicated diverticulosis and diverticulitis. But they found that high consumption of popcorn alone (at least two servings per week) was associated with a reduced risk of diverticulitis compared to low popcorn consumption (less than once per month) with a hazard ratio of 0.71.
"Patients with diverticular disease are frequently advised to avoid nuts and seeds; however, there is no evidence to support this recommendation," the authors write.
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