Vegetarians Have Lower Risk for Symptomatic Diverticular Disease

Despite the reputation of a high-fiber diet of being effective in disease prevention, only one prospective study has examined the association between dietary fiber and risk for diverticular disease, and its population was limited to men (Am J Clin Nutr 1994; 60:757). Now, a prospective cohort study of a generally health-conscious segment of the U.K. population addressed whether dietary fiber or vegetarianism lowers the risk for diverticular disease.

During a mean of 11.6 years of follow-up of 47,033 men and women (33% of whom were vegetarians), researchers documented 812 cases of symptomatic diverticular disease (806 among hospital admissions and 6 from death records). Overall, vegetarians and vegans had a 31% lower risk for diverticular dis…