Women Whose Diets Best Matched the DASH Pattern Developed Diverticulitis Less Often

CATEGORY: GUT & DIGESTIVE HEALTH

If you’ve had diverticulitis—a painful inflammation or infection of small pouches that can form in the wall of your colon, the main part of your large intestine—your overall eating pattern may matter more than any single food you’re told to avoid. In a 2025 study that followed nearly 30,000 U.S. women, those whose diets most closely matched healthy patterns such as the DASH diet had roughly a 23% lower risk of developing diverticulitis than those whose diets matched them least.¹

Diverticulosis Is Common, Diverticulitis Brings Pain and Fever

As people age, small bulging pouches called diverticula commonly form in the colon wall. Simply having them, known as diverticulosis, usually causes no trouble. But sometimes a pouch becomes inflamed or infected—that’s diverticulitis, which can bring abdominal pain, fever, and nausea, and in serious cases needs hospital care. Because flare-ups can be so uncomfortable, many people look for ways to lower their chances of a first or repeat episode.

29,916 Women Aged 35 to 74, 1,531 Cases

Researchers drew on a large U.S. study of 29,916 women aged 35 to 74, none of whom had diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, or cancer at the start. Each woman filled out a detailed questionnaire about how often she ate various foods, and researchers scored her diet against several well-established healthy-eating patterns. The women were then tracked over more than 415,000 combined person-years, during which 1,531 developed diverticulitis for the first time.¹

DASH Pattern Linked to 23% Lower Risk

Women whose diets best fit the DASH pattern—one rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and nuts, and lighter on red meat and sugary foods—had about a 23% lower risk of diverticulitis. Two other healthy-eating scores pointed the same way, with roughly 19% to 22% lower risk. Because this is an observational study, it shows an association rather than proof of cause and effect, but seeing the same pattern across several separate scoring systems strengthens the signal. A fourth pattern, the Alternative Mediterranean diet, was not clearly linked to lower risk, so the association did not hold across every healthy-eating score.¹

Peanuts, Nuts, and Seeds Not Linked to Risk

For decades, people with diverticulosis were warned to avoid nuts, seeds, and popcorn, on the theory that fragments could lodge in the pouches. This study adds to evidence overturning that idea: eating peanuts, nuts, and seeds was not linked to any higher risk, and neither were fruits with edible seeds. Rather than fixating on foods to fear, the findings point toward the broader quality of the diet.

46,295 Men, Western Diets Linked to 55% Higher Risk

The same question has been examined in men. A cohort of 46,295 U.S. men followed for 26 years found that those whose diets best matched a prudent pattern—rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains—had about 26% lower risk of diverticulitis, while those eating the most Western-style diet, high in red meat and refined grains, had about 55% higher risk.² That study was also observational, so it shows the same link, not cause.

Key Takeaways

• In nearly 30,000 women, a healthier overall diet such as the DASH pattern was linked to about 23% lower risk of diverticulitis.
• Nuts, seeds, and fruits with seeds were not associated with higher risk—reassuring news if you’ve been avoiding them.
• This is an observational study, so it shows a link, not proof that diet directly prevents diverticulitis.

References

1. Barlowe T, Anderson C, Nichols HB, Salvador AC, Sandler RS, Sandler DP, Peery AF. Diet and Risk for Incident Diverticulitis in Women: A Prospective Cohort Study. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2025;178(6):788–795. link
2. Strate LL, Keeley BR, Cao Y, et al. Western dietary pattern increases, and prudent dietary pattern decreases, risk of incident diverticulitis in a prospective cohort study. Gastroenterology. 2017;152(5):1023–1030. link.