People with diverticular disease, a common digestive disorder, are typically told to avoid eating popcorn, nuts, seeds and corn so they don’t get painful attacks. But, a new study calls into question that conventional wisdom. The study of more than 47,000 men found that eating those foods did not seem to increase the risk of diverticulosis or diverticular complications. ‘We found, contrary to current recommendations, that actually, consumption of these foods did not increase the risk of diverticulitis or diverticular bleeding and didn’t appear to increase the risk of developing diverticulosis or its complications,’ said study lead author Dr. Lisa Strate, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle. The findings are published in the Aug. 27 issue of theJournal of the American Medical Association. Diverticular disease affects the colon, the part of the large intestine that discards waste. Diverticulosis occurs when pouches — called diverticula — form in the colon. Stool or bacteria can lodge in the pouches. Diverticulitis occurs when the pouches get inflamed; symptoms can include bleeding, infection or a blockage of the digestive system. One third of U.S. adults have diverticulosis by age 60, […]