Eat popcorn, nuts and still possibly avoid diverticulosis, study says

For those hoping to stave off diverticular complications by passing on the popcorn during a movie, there's potentially good news.

A study published in the August 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that foregoing snacking on nuts, corn, seeds and popcorn does not raise the risk of the disease, which is caused by small pouches in the lining of the colon, or large intestine, that bulge outward through weak spots.

About half of all people older than 60 have diverticulosis, according to the National Institutes of Health. The pouches can become inflamed, requiring surgical intervention in severe cases.

For years doctors have warned patients off of foods containing small particles that could get trapped in the pouches and become infected.

But researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, examined the association between consuming the foods and diverticular disease in a group of more than 47,000 men aged 40 to 75, followed up from 1986 to 2004 who were asked to self-report medical and diet information. Twenty-seven percent of participants reported eating nuts at least twice per week, and corn and popcorn each were consumed at least twice a week by 15 percent of the participants. During 18 years of follow-up, there were 801 new cases of diverticulitis and 383 new cases of diverticular bleeding.

Much to the surprise of the team, not only was nut, corn, seed and popcorn consumption not associated with an increased risk of new diverticulitis, but men with the highest intake of nuts had a 20 percent lower risk of developing the disease compared to men with the lowest intake. The same held true for popcorn. No association was seen between corn consumption.

"These findings refute the pervasive but unproven belief that these foods are associated with diverticular complications and suggest that the recommendation to avoid these foods in diverticular disease should be reconsidered," the authors said.

So this weekend, consider the popcorn, but hold off on the butter.