Soft Food Diet for Diverticulosis
- Diverticulosis is an inflammation or infection in your intestinal walls. Diverticulosis is most common in people over the age of 60, when the colon and intestines weaken. Symptoms will include stomach pain and constipation, and possible fever, vomiting, bleeding and bloating. The cure to this condition includes antibiotics, a soft food diet, and then a fiber-rich diet.
- A combination of antibiotics and soft food will allow the infection to be cured and the colon to rest and heal its sores. A soft food diet is recommended for one to two weeks, which is the average time it takes for diverticulosis symptoms to disappear. This type of diet includes eating foods that are first chopped, ground, blended, mashed or pureed, and foods that are always moist. These foods should be easy to chew, swallow and digest. A food processor is great for grinding up foods that would otherwise be too difficult to eat. You could combine fruit with fruit juice, or chicken broth or gravy with vegetables.
Easy-to-chew foods include bananas, cooked cereal, pureed vegetables, pudding, mashed potatoes, soup, creamy peanut butter, cottage cheese, coffee, tea, scrambled eggs, pasta, rice, broth, sherbet and ice cream, to name a few. This diet should be combined with lots of water, which will flush out the digestive system and keep it functioning normally.
Foods to definitely stay away from during the soft food diet include nuts and popcorn, raw fruits and vegetables, crispy chips, crackers or cold cereals, chewy or toasted breads, tough meats and fried foods. - After about one or two weeks, or however long it takes for your diverticulosis symptoms to disappear, you can gradually begin adding regular foods to your diet. It is recommended that while you continue to drink lots of water, you add as much fiber as possible to your diet. Fiber-rich diets allow your digestive track to remain healthy. Exercising and keeping stress levels low are also recommended to keep diverticulitis symptoms away.
