Definition

If you have diverticulitis, you may have to change the way you eat. Your diet will depend on if your diverticulitis condition is flaring up, if you're recovering or if you're preventing a flare-up. Often, the term "diverticulitis diet" is used to describe a way of eating that adjusts based on those stages of the condition. It's especially used to describe the eating plan that a healthcare professional may recommend during a flare-up.

Diverticulitis is the name given to inflamed pockets formed by the wall of the large intestine. The pockets, called diverticula, bubble through the intestine's wall. When the diverticula get inflamed or infected, the condition is called diverticulitis. This condition can cause sudden symptoms, called flare-ups, such as pain in the stomach area, fever and changes in stool.

With diverticulitis, what you eat and drink can depend on your symptoms. During a flare-up, your healthcare professional may ask you to change your diet to let your digestive tract rest and recover. As you recover and then are well, the diet shifts to include foods that may prevent future flare-ups.

Here's how that process might work.