Hi,

I’m sorry to hear about your diagnosis.  Hopefully your doctor, or the practice nurse, has already given you some dietary advice, which you should follow.  With this condition, it is often trial and error to find out which are tolerable foods for different individuals.

For most people, cooked food is often easier to digest than raw food and I would reduce foods in your diet that can be difficult to digest, such as meat (particularly red meat).  You can replace meat with fish which is generally ‘kinder’ to the digestive system.  Chew your food really well and take your time, eating in a relaxed manner.  This can really help.

When you are not experiencing any symptoms, try to eat high fibre foods if you can, such as brown rice and plenty of vegetables.  If you are not used to eating a high fibre diet, introduce these foods slowly and gradually build up the amount to allow your digestive system to become accustomed to larger quantities of roughage.  

During an attack, I would suggest that you stick to bland, soft foods and even consider liquidising them into a ‘soup’.  And make sure you keep your fluid levels up too, preferably with water.  Tea and coffee can often aggravate symptoms of diverticulitis.  

I would also advise you to avoid wheat, if you didn’t already have a gluten intolerance, as wheat can also upset the digestive tract.  Replace wheat with rice cakes, oats and oat cakes and consider wheat-free pasta alternatives to normal pasta.  Just be careful introducing new foods until you are sure that you can eat them without aggravating your symptoms.   

I hope this is helpful and that you feel better soon.