When diverticulitis strikes, a person’s digestive system is put under a huge amount of stress. Everything gets affected, including the ability to digest food and absorb nutrients. So part of the strategy in treating the disease is to give the bowels enough rest and time to recover, while still allowing its function of providing nutrition to the patient. To help achieve this, the diet being given must be very easy to digest and absorb, with the highest amount of nutrition as possible.
The best way for this is through providing a clear, liquid diet or blended soups at least 2-3 times daily. Using food processors or hi-speed blenders will make this easier. Herbal teas made from anti-inflammatory herbs like ginger, turmeric, aloe vera can provide additional healing nourishment to inflamed bowels.
These following types of food can provide the ingredients to make up the daily diet to boost digestive health.
- Prebiotics
- Probiotics
- Herbal teas / natural anti-inflammatory ingredients
Some of these could be included in blended soups. And if the patient has sufficiently recovered, then these could be more solid ingredients in light meals and salads.
Prebiotics:
These full of nutrients which feed good bacteria and promote their growth. Prebiotics contain substances like inulin (a form of starch or fiber) and beta-glucans (a type of sugar) that serve as fuel for the good bacteria’s growth. Significant sources are fruits and vegetables like bananas, papayas blueberries, kimchi, sauerkraut, honey, naturally-aged cheese, garlic, and onion.
Consuming probiotics can help restore the normal and healthy microbial population in the gut. The overall effect is a healthier and more permanent cure to diverticulitis. At the least, the flare-ups of diarrhea and pain which you are suffering from will be greatly reduced.
Probiotics:
These are products made up of living good bacteria in lactobacilli drinks or yogurt. These can increase the beneficial microbial population and can make digestion more efficient as well. Drinking this regularly can prevent the spread of bad bacteria in the gut. Probiotics are also important if you have been taking antibiotics for a long time.
Herbal teas / natural anti-inflammatory ingredients:
Herbal teas and activated charcoal drinks can be used daily to help relieve inflammation and calm down irritated bowels. The best teas for inflammation include turmeric, ginger, and chamomile. Purselane could also be included in salads. Aloe vera gel can be added to fruit juices and shakes.
Promoting digestive health also means watching out for foods which could irritate the bowels and cause “flare-up” episodes of diarrhea, stomach cramping, and bloat. Examples of these are milk, processed non-aged cheese, fatty fast food, gluten-based products, alcohol, and coffee.
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