What is Diverticulitis?

A health article about diverticulitis fromYour Health Online the A to Z directory of dealing with Health Problems & nutritional Self Care Strategies

Diverticulosis is a term to describe the formation of pockets (diverticuli) in the wall of the large intestine. The formation of these pockets is due to an increase in pressure brought upon by a person straining whilst moving their bowel.

The result of the diverticuli can lead to a build up of mucus which leads to infection, known as Diverticulitis.

Signs & Symptoms

Symptoms of diverticulitis may last from a few hours to a week or more. Symptoms include:

• Belly pain, usually in the lower left side, that is sometimes worse when you move. This is the most common symptom.
• Fever and chills.
• Bloating and gas.
• Diarrhea or constipation.
• Nausea and sometimes vomiting.
• Not feeling like eating.

Types of diverticulitis

In the initial stages of this complaint it may be described as Diverticulosis

What Causes diverticulitis?

Doctors aren't sure what causes diverticulitis. But they think that a low-fiber diet may play a role. Without fiber to add bulk to the stool, the colon has to work harder than normal to push the stool forward. The pressure from this may cause pouches to form in weak spots along the colon.

Small, protruding sacs of the inner lining of the intestine (diverticulosis) can develop in any part of the intestine. They are most common in the colon, especially the sigmoid colon.

Diverticulitis happens when bacteria get trapped in the pouches. This can lead to inflammation or infection.

These sacs, called diverticula, occur more often after the age of 40. When they become inflamed, the condition is known as diverticulitis. Diverticula are thought to develop as a result of high pressure or abnormal pressure distribution in the colon. High pressure against the colon wall causes pouches of the intestinal lining to bulge outward through small defects in the colon wall.

Diverticulosis is very common. It is found in more than half of Americans over age 60. Only a small percentage of these people will develop the complication of diverticulitis.

Diverticulitis is caused by inflammation, or (sometimes) a small tear in a diverticulum. If the tear is large, stool in the colon can spill into the abdominal cavity, causing an infection (abscess) or inflammation of the abdomen wall (peritonitis).

Direct risk factors for diverticulitis are not known. Risk factors for diverticulosis may include older age or a low-fiber diet.

Risk Factors:

Diet appears to be a major factor in the development of Diverticulitis.

Although not proven, the dominant theory is that a low-fiber diet is the main cause of diverticular disease. The disease was first noticed in the United States in the early 1900s. At about the same time, processed foods were introduced into the American diet. Many processed foods contain refined, low-fiber flour. Unlike whole-wheat flour, refined flour has no wheat bran.

Diverticular disease is common in developed or industrialized countries—particularly the United States, England, and Australia—where low-fiber diets are common. The disease is rare in countries of Asia and Africa, where people eat high-fiber vegetable diets.

Fiber is the part of fruits, vegetables, and grains that the body cannot digest. Some fiber dissolves easily in water (soluble fiber). It takes on a soft, jelly-like texture in the intestines. Some fiber passes almost unchanged through the intestines (insoluble fiber). Both kinds of fiber help make stools soft and easy to pass. Fiber also prevents constipation.

When to seek Medical Advice:

Possible Complications of Diverticulitis.

Complications of diverticulitis are rare. If complications occur, it is usually necessary to treat them in hospital.

• Narrowing of the colon (stenosis) can occur as a result of ongoing chronic diverticulitis. It results in a change of bowel habit with increasing constipation and lower abdominal pain.

• Severe bleeding is a rare but serious complication of diverticular disease. This condition usually requires hospital admission but once it settles, it rarely recurs.

• Fistula formation is another rare complication. It occurs when the bowel is perforated and there is communication between the bowel and another structure such as the bladder or vagina. The symptoms of a fistula may include frequent urinary tract infections, passing bubbles of gas with urine or passing gas from the vagina.

Treatment/Therapy:

Acute diverticulitis is treated with antibiotics.

The involved portion of the colon may need to be removed with surgery if you have:

• Abscess
• Hole (perforation)
• Fistula
• Repeated attacks

After the acute infection has improved, diverticulitis is treated by increasing the bulk in the diet with high-fiber foods and bulk additives, such as psyllium.

Self Care strategies for Living with diverticulitis

Diet is a seen as being a critical factor in dealing diverticulitis. Initally though having high fiber food is likely to aggravate the problem and cause pain.

Bringing the problem under control through the use of natural healing products like Aloe Vera Juice or through medical intervention is the first step in recovering from this problem.

Review this in more depth in the Vitamin & Mineral section below.

Diet change strategies:

Vitamin & Nutrient Associations

If there is one supplement or alternative Aloe Vera Juice.

Aloe heals where it touches. If you cut or graze your hand and there is an aloe vera plant near buy you can cut the succulent leaf and rub the internal gel on the wound and the discomfort will reduce quickly and the rate of healing will normally be dramatically faster than without the use of the aloe products.

Internally it is a little more to difficult to apply aloe so you need to use a high quality Aloe Vera Juice.

A quality product will be clear to look at and pleasant smelling. If you find a cloud solution that smells and tastes poorly then you will have an extract of the full juice. This is very good for cleansing the lower bowel and is a much cheaper product but it will not deliver the same cleansing and healing properties as a juice that is extracted from just the heart of the plant.

In addition to the another product that will help to balance the irritable bowel problem is acidophilus.

These two products together will promote healing through the entire digeative tract and will, in many cases, assist in bringing diverticulitis back under control and aid in preventing “flare ups”.

Once you have a basic cleansing and healing process happening then you should look at adding in some nutrition products to heal your whole system.

If you are using even high quality products like these DO NOT go onto full product use on day one. Introduce things gradually over a few days or even a few weeks.

You may decide to use a protein based meal replacement progream with tablet supplementation. If you do then initially it would be best to take the amnino protein meal replacement powder that comes with the program just once a day.

After a few days add the supplement tablets starting with one of them taken only one time a day initially and adding the rest of the tablets progressively and then taking them twice a day and finally on to normal usage three times a day.

This whole process may take a few days, a few weeks or even a month to establish but if is removes the problems of diverticulitis from your life it is worth it.

A final note: often when people start on this program they feel very good after a short time and think they can go onto a normal diet immediately. DO NOT DO THAT. Introduce things gradually. If it takes six weeks to get onto a normal diet where you can eat anything it is a fantastic outcome. Be patient with the process.

Further reading through our articles on health issues will give you a body of information that will help you decide what options you have to deal with the underlying causes of your diverticulitis problem through giving your body the nutrition products that will assist you body to heal from the inside out. We wish you well in your search for solutions to this problem and your movement towards better health in all areas. Further reading through our articles on health issues will give you a body of information that will help you decide what options you have to deal with the underlying causes of your diverticulitis problem through giving your body the nutrition products that will assist you body to heal from the inside out. We wish you well in your search for solutions to this problem and your movement towards better health in all areas.

Below here are examples of Health Success Results other people have had with using a self care strategy for dealing with diverticulitis:

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