Dylan’s Diverticulitis Diet

This diet is made for

• People with diverticular disease and some forms of IBS/IBD who need to have high amounts of fibre while minimizing bloating. (NOT Crohn’s disease!)
• People doing a moderate amount of strength/weight/resistance exercise, who need a higher than usual amount of protein.
• People who want to lose fat and build muscle and are willing to “carb cycle” meals around exercise to achieve both at once.
• People who don’t have much money - originally designed to be affordable for a pensioner with diverticulitis.
• People who can’t handle fasting diets (for digestive or behavioural reasons or both)
• Vegetarians, especially those looking for a high-protein veg diet.

This diet is not suitable for

• Those with Crohn’s disease, or any other condition where fiber needs to be low.
• Gluten free; some things can be adapted but I make heavy use of wholegrains for their bulking fibre and gluten protein for high protein low carbohydrate baked goodies.
• People who want to do “Bulking” and “Cutting” cycles; these aggravate digestive problems like diverticulitis so I use carb cycling instead to maintain a stable amount of food every day.
• Most forms of fasting (as above, doesn’t mesh with a steady rate, high fibre diet).

Daily Targets

• 35-40g fibre per day
• 150-200g carbs per day (more with cardio training)
• < 60g fat per day
• About $4-$5 AUD per day

Basic Ideas and Core Foods

1. All meals should have plenty of water, fibre and protein to ensure (a) Smooth digestion (b) Good protein absorbtion (c) Meals are filling and satisfying.
2. To ensure the above, base the diet around ingredients which are high in protein and fibre, low in calories and price.
3. Ingredients that meet those requirements: Legumes, Wholegrains, some nuts/seeds, some refined diet foods (such as protein concentrates and isolates - these can be eliminated if you don’t have high protein requirements).
4. Ground/milled
5. In addition to the above items, we try to have plenty of vegetables and a bit of fruit and oats each day

3. Grains and legumes together each day provides complete protein. A wide variety of each keeps things interesting and is good for nutrition.
4. To avoid painful bloating agravating diverticulitis, legumes prone to cause bloating (most beans and lentils) kept to a minimum.
5. Avoid chilli/cayenne/etc and cheese or heavy cream as these can aggravate digestive issues.
6. Meals with more grains (and therefore a substantial amount of carbohydrates) should be eaten 1-2 hours before long periods of exercise, especially cardio exercise. See “
   • As a rule of thumb, the dry weight (i.e. dry ingredients) of all meals should be at least 10% fibre and 20% protein; any remainder should be around 2/3 carbohydrates and 1/3 fat @@@@