NICE clinical guideline

This is part of a post I made earlier.  Interesting now that some research seems to think high fibre diets may also be responsible.  Seems like getting the right balance is the key.  I've heard of some sufferers being told to eat more fibre, so they've had a large bowl of All Bran which is so rough it has irritated the bowel.  Also some told to eat anything and they've promptly had a burger with all the trimmings and also suffered!  Moderation in all things.

This is a medical article I found.

What causes diverticulosis and diverticulitis?

Experts are not sure what causes diverticulosis and diverticulitis. Researchers are studying several factors that may play a role in causing these conditions.

Fiber

For more than 50 years, experts thought that following a low-fiber diet led to diverticulosis. However, recent research has found that a low-fiber diet may not play a role. This study also found that a high-fiber diet with more frequent bowel movements may be linked with a greater chance of having diverticulosis.

Genes

Some studies suggest that genes may make some people more likely to develop diverticulosis and diverticulitis. Experts are still studying the role genes play in causing these conditions.

Other factors

Studies have found links between diverticular disease—diverticulosis that causes symptoms or problems such as diverticular bleeding or diverticulitis—and the following factors:

certain medicines—including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin , and steroids

lack of exercise

obesity

smoking

Diverticulitis may begin when bacteria or stool get caught in a pouch in your colon. A decrease in healthy bacteria and an increase in disease-causing bacteria in your colon may also lead to diverticulitis.

A second article

Your gut (intestine) moves stools (faeces) along with gentle squeezes of its muscular wall. The stools tend to be drier, smaller, and more difficult to move along if you don't eat much fibre. Your gut muscles have to work harder if there is too little fibre in your gut. High pressure may develop in parts of your gut when it squeezes hard stools. The increased pressure may push the inner lining of a small area of your gut through the muscle wall to form a small diverticulum. 

I would add to that.  I've had high blood pressure since my early 20's - genetic not weight related, as over half my family had it.  Also I didn't chew my food properly.  However I've always drunk plenty of water and followed a mainly vegetable diet - I eat a little fish and poultry but rarely red meat.  We always had meals cooked from scratch - little processed food.So my conclusion is that there are multiple factors:  lack of fibre certainly in some cases, as nations with a high fibre, no processed food, do not have the same level of incidence, but also other predispositions.  I am from the post war generation where the diet was mostly vegetables, no junk food. 

just out of curiosity,,,, do you suffer from D.D ????  If Not, there is no way you could start to understand the pain that lots of us go through, with NO WORDS to describe it. you are rather patronising about us . Suggest you scrawl through all the D.D forums ,and find out for yourself .

Mine seems to be a slightly different type of DD and may be useful to the studies. I was diagnosed in September last year after eight months of persistent yet not severe pain in the left lower quadrant. It has now lessened but still occurs some days and I cannot identify any particular food triggers. I do not get diarrhoea or constipation though it did start last March with what seemed to be a stomach upset for a few days. I do not drink much alcohol (two glasses of wine at the weekend) and don’t smoke. I am not overweight. I feel very fortunate that I have not experienced any severe attacks. I was advised to eat fibre to prevent constipation, unless I have an attack at which time I should eat a low fibre diet. I was not advised to keep away from any foods in particular, unless, of course, I identify any food that triggers the pain. 

Like many of the other posters, I was diagnosed, then basically left to get on with things myself.  Managing this AND arthritis is a bit of a struggle, but I've found myself basically eating a bland but nutritious (yuck!) diet, have switched from a traditional 3 meals a day to basically eating small snack-like meals when I'm hungry,and have had to cut out a lot of fruit and veg, as they only seem to upset my bowels. I've had to do the same with a lot of those 'healthy roughage' kinds of food, as they seem to make things work.  Drink lots of water.  Cry about the lack of fiery chili and curry in my diet.

It is hard coping with arthritis and DD because I find a lot of pain relief tablets upset my bowel