Foods to Avoid With Diverticulitis for Relief and Prevention (2025)

The foods you eat may contribute to the development of diverticulitis. Additionally, certain foods may worsen or improve symptoms, such as abdominal discomfort, constipation, diarrhea, or gas.

Healthcare providers generally recommend avoiding high-fiber foods during an episode of diverticulitis. Depending on the severity, you may need to avoid food entirely and go on a liquid diet until symptoms improve.

Specific diet recommendations depend on your symptoms or if you are trying to prevent a diverticulitis flare. Once the diverticulitis is resolved, a high-fiber diet may help prevent future episodes.

Understanding Diverticulitis

Diverticulosis is common as individuals age. Diverticula are pouches that form along your lower digestive tract, often in your colon. Diverticulosis is the name of the condition when you have diverticula. Diverticulosis may not cause any symptoms.

However, "diverticulitis" is the name of the condition when the pouches become inflamed. If you develop diverticulitis, there are foods to avoid during a flare-up and foods to eat to help prevent the condition from returning.

Clear Liquid Diet

During an episode of diverticulitis, your healthcare provider may recommend you avoid all food and go on a clear liquid diet to rest your colon. Examples of what you can consume on a clear liquid diet include:

• Broths
• Water
• Ice chips
• Clear juices
• Some electrolyte drinks
• Tea
• Popsicles
• Jello-O or gelatin

Once your symptoms begin to resolve, your provider may have you slowly reintroduce food. Initially, this will likely be foods that are low in fiber to reduce pressure on the GI tract. However, eventually, your provider may recommend consuming a diet high in fiber to prevent future cases of diverticulitis.

Foods to Avoid During Diverticulitis

When you're experiencing diverticulitis, your healthcare provider may recommend you avoid foods high in fiber for a few days. A low-fiber diet helps to reduce strain on the colon and reduce how much you poop.

Examples of foods to avoid during acute diverticulitis include:

• Most fruits
• Cruciferous vegetables (e.g., broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower)
• Raw vegetables
• Beans
• Whole grains
• Leafy greens

While fiber may help prevent future flare-ups of diverticulitis, high-fiber foods like a big salad are bad for diverticulitis when you are acutely ill.

Instead, consider eating the following low-fiber foods to help you recover from diverticulitis:

• Boiled or steamed potatoes with the skin removed
• Bananas
• Cooked carrots or squash
• Pasta
• Applesauce
• Canned peaches
• White bread
• Rice
• Saltine crackers

Once you recover from diverticulitis, your healthcare provider will likely recommend you go on a high-fiber diet to prevent future occurrences.

Foods to Avoid to Prevent Diverticulitis

While most healthcare providers don't recommend excluding foods to ward off diverticulitis, research suggests a typical Western diet high in fat and sugar and low in fiber may increase the risk of developing the condition.

Processed and Red Meat

Some research suggests a diet high in processed and red meat could be a risk factor for diverticulitis. One study found that males who consumed the most red meat had a significantly increased risk of developing diverticulitis compared to those who consumed the least red meat per week.

High FODMAP Foods

Some people find that avoiding high FODMAP foods (fermentable, oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols), which are types of carbohydrates, may help with symptoms of diverticulitis. Research suggests that a low FODMAP diet could lessen pressure in the colon and help diverticulitis.

Some high FODMAP foods to avoid include:

• Dairy
• Foods high in trans fats
• Onions or garlic
• Soy
• Cabbage or Brussels sprouts
• Certain fruits

Some low-FODMAP foods to add to your diet include:

• Eggs
• Meat
• Almond milk
• Grains (rice, quinoa, oats)
• Certain cheese (Brie, Camembert, cheddar, feta)
• Fruits (strawberries, blueberries, oranges, pineapple, grapes)
• Vegetables (zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, potatoes)

Foods High in Fat and Sugar

Greasy, high-fat foods or those loaded with sugar may prompt inflammation in the digestive system, which could cause stomach pain or other symptoms.

Fried foods and potato chips are examples of high-fat foods. High-sugar foods include cakes, muffins, candy, and cookies.

Preventing Diverticulitis

No specific foods are known to trigger diverticulitis. Experts used to believe that eating popcorn, nuts, corn, and seeds could prompt an attack, but current research suggests this isn't the case.

A diet low in fiber may increase your risk of developing diverticulitis. If you’ve had the condition previously or you experience chronic symptoms, your healthcare provider may recommend a high-fiber diet. Fiber can help soften stools, so constipation is less likely. It may also lessen pressure in the colon, preventing diverticulitis flare-ups.

Some foods that are high in fiber content include the following:

• Whole grains (high-fiber cereals, crackers, or brown rice)
  
• Vegetables (broccoli, collard greens, or green peas)
• Fruits (raspberries, apples, or dried plums)
• Legumes (such as beans, peas, and lentils)

In addition to following a healthy, high-fiber diet, drinking enough fluids to help soften stool is essential. Try to consume at least eight 8-ounce servings of liquids each day. Daily exercise also promotes bowel movements and may prevent constipation.

Summary

People who have experienced diverticulitis are generally encouraged to eat a diet high in fiber and low in unhealthy fats, sugars, and red or processed meats. If you’re having an acute attack, your healthcare provider may instruct you to follow a liquid diet and then progress to a low-fiber diet before slowly adding higher-fiber foods back into your diet.

While no foods are strictly off limits, consult your healthcare provider about whether changing your dietary habits could help with diverticulitis episodes.