12-05-2025
Does Eating Nuts, Seed, Corn Raise Diverticulitis Risk?
Women who consumed nuts, seeds, or corn had no increased risk for diverticulitis, contrary to historical data suggesting these foods may trigger the condition. METHODOLOGY: Although prior research has challenged the historical assumption that intake of nuts, seeds, and corn precipitates diverticulitis, it was conducted exclusively in men and did not control for overall diet quality.
Researchers analyzed data from 29,916 women aged 35-74 years enrolled between 2003 and 2009 in an ongoing prospective cohort study. All participants were free of inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulitis, and cancer at baseline.
Diverticulitis was self-reported, and food frequency questionnaires were used to calculate dietary index scores and intake of nuts, seeds, and corn.
Associations between dietary factors and diverticulitis risk were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for demographic and health covariates. TAKEAWAY: After a mean follow-up of 13.9 years, 1531 incident cases of diverticulitis were identified. Women with diverticulitis tended to have older age, current or former smoking habit, heavy alcohol usage, and overweight.
Intake of peanuts, nuts, and seeds was not associated with an increased risk for diverticulitis (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] for highest vs lowest quartile, 1.07), nor was intake of fresh fruits with edible seeds (aHR, 1.06).
Corn intake was inversely associated with diverticulitis risk, with those in the highest quartile having a lower risk (aHR, 0.86).
Women in the highest quartile of adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet had a 23% reduced risk for diverticulitis (aHR, 0.77), with similar reductions for the Healthy Eating Index (aHR, 0.78) and Alternative Healthy Eating Index (aHR, 0.81), and a nonsignificant trend for the Alternative Mediterranean diet (aHR, 0.91).
No association was found between any dietary component or pattern and the risk of developing diverticulosis. IN PRACTICE:
'Our findings refute the widely held belief that dietary intake of particulate matter should be avoided to prevent diverticulitis,' the authors wrote. 'Diets with widely documented health benefits are also associated with a reduced risk for incident diverticulitis.' SOURCE:
The study, with first author Trevor Barlowe, MD, Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was study published online in Annals of Internal Medicine . LIMITATIONS:
The study was observational and could not establish causality. Diverticulitis diagnoses were self-reported, introducing risk for misclassification. Although the analyses were adjusted for multiple confounders, the presence of bias from unmeasured confounders is possible. DISCLOSURES:
Study funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health. The authors disclosed having no relevant conflicts of interest.
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Cite this: Does Eating Nuts, Seed, Corn Raise Diverticulitis Risk? - Medscape - May 12, 2025.
