High Fiber Diet

Back in February I rolled over in bed at 4 a.m. and was awoken by an extreme pain on my lower right side.  It felt a little like a pulled muscle, so I thought after a few hours of moving around it would feel a little better.  Later that morning I started to think it might be appendicitis, so I did some research.  The location was right, but I wasn’t having any nausea or fever.  I called my doctor, but they couldn’t see me until the next day.  That evening the pain was pretty strong, and I thought it might be something gynecological like an ovarian cyst or ectopic pregnancy.  I called my OB who said she would see me first thing the next morning.

She quickly ruled out anything gynecological and sent me to get a CT scan.  I left my baby at home with my mother-in-law while I went to do the test, hoping to be back within 3 hours, but it took 4.  Poor baby!  Before I had even driven all the way home the doctor called and said I had diverticulitis, an infection in the colon.  I thought, “Oh, good.  All I need to do is take a few antibiotics.”  But then she said, “So, if you need to be hospitalized, which hospital do you want to go to?”  It was then I realized that this was far more serious than I thought.

I was put on 2 different antibiotics for 14 days (not 10).  They said I would have to stop nursing.  I begged for an alternative and was given it instead, but they weren’t sure if it would be good enough to take care of the infection.  I started the medication Wednesday night.  By Friday morning when I saw the GI Specialist, the pain was exactly the same.  Sometimes when I was perfectly still I couldn’t feel it at all, but when I moved it shot up to a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.  The doctor was astonished to see me.  He was amazed that 1) I was only 37, 2) that the pain was so severe, and 3) that the pain was on the right side instead of the left side.

He said I needed to be on a “full liquid diet” for 2 weeks, which means that I couldn’t have anything that required chewing.  That was pretty miserable.  I tried to continue getting 2300 calories a day to keep up my milk supply, not so easy to do when you aren’t eating food!  By Monday night the pain was still exactly the same.  I was beginning to think that I was going to have to go to the hospital for a round of IV antibiotics, or even surgery.  The worst part was that I’d have to wean my baby.  I love nursing and didn’t want to do that!

By Tuesday I finally felt the pain begin to subside.  That night I also started to get hives.  It’s a typical allergic reaction to medication that I get.  I told the doctor that I needed to stop the antibiotics.  Since I didn’t know which one I was allergic to, I had to stop both.  So, I’m glad I was only on them for 7 days, and “Praise the Lord” the infection was gone!  I continued the liquid diet, though.  Unfortunately, the hives kept returning for another week!

How do I prevent diverticulitis from returning?  One way is to eat a high fiber diet, which means 30 grams a day.  Have you ever counted up to see how many grams of fiber you eat a day?  I was amazed at how little I was eating.  I like fruits and vegetables and only eat whole grain bread and cereal.  But it added up to only about 10-15 grams a day.  I also need to exercise, which is why I’m glad I found T-Tapp (see previous post.)

For breakfast I usually eat a mixture of 1/2 cup of All-Bran (10 grams), 1/2 cup granola with nuts (4 grams), and 1/2 cup fruit–usually thawed out frozen berries or a whole banana (2 grams).  If I have a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, that’s another 5 grams.  A salad with dark greens or spinach and 1/2 cup raw veggies with 1/4 cup sunflower seeds gives about another 5 grams.  A late afternoon snack of 1/4 nuts and 33 chocolate chips gives 3 grams.  Getting 1/2 cup of beans at dinner time gives a big boost (5 grams or more).  And, if I haven’t gotten enough from the above, I eat a fiber bar (9 grams).

See below for a list of foods with fiber:

(Only plants have fiber; animal products don’t.)

Fruits:  Serving size Total fiber (grams)*

Raspberries 1 cup 8.0

Pear, with skin 1 medium 5.1

Apple, with skin 1 medium 4.4

Figs, dried 2 medium 3.7

Blueberries 1 cup 3.5

Strawberries 1 cup 3.3

 Banana 1 medium 3.1

Orange 1 medium 3.1

Raisins 1.5-ounce box 1.6

Grains, cereal & pasta: Serving size Total fiber (grams)*

Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked 1 cup 6.3

Barley, pearled, cooked 1 cup 6.0

Oat bran muffin 1 medium 5.2

Bran flakes 3/4 cup 5.1

Oatmeal, quick, regular or instant, cooked 1 cup 4.0

Popcorn, air-popped 3 cups 3.6

Brown rice, cooked 1 cup 3.5

Bread, rye 1 slice 1.9

 Bread, whole-wheat or multigrain 1 slice 1.9

Legumes, nuts & seeds: Serving size Total fiber (grams)*

Split peas, cooked 1 cup 16.3

Lentils, cooked 1 cup 15.6

Black beans, cooked 1 cup 15.0

Lima beans, cooked 1 cup 13.2

Baked beans, vegetarian, canned, cooked 1 cup 10.4

Sunflower seeds, hulled 1/4 cup 3.6

Almonds 1 ounce (22 nuts) 3.3

Pistachio nuts 1 ounce (49 nuts) 2.9

Pecans 1 ounce (19 halves) 2.7

Vegetables: Serving size Total fiber (grams)*

Artichoke, cooked 1 medium 10.3

Peas, cooked 1 cup 8.8

Broccoli, boiled 1 cup 5.1

Turnip greens, boiled 1 cup 5.0

Sweet corn, cooked 1 cup 4.6

Brussels sprouts, cooked 1 cup 4.1

Potato, with skin, baked 1 medium 4.0

 Tomato paste 1/4 cup 2.7

Carrot, raw 1 medium 1.7

Breads, cereals, and beans

1/2 cup of navy beans  9.5 grams

1/2 cup of kidney beans  8.2 grams

1/2 cup of black beans  7.5 grams

Whole-grain cereal, cold

1/2 cup of All-Bran  9.6 grams

3/4 cup of Total  2.4 grams

3/4 cup of Post Bran Flakes  5.3 grams

1 packet of whole-grain cereal, hot  3.0 grams

(oatmeal, Wheatena)

1 whole-wheat English muffin  4.4 grams

Fruits

1 medium apple, with skin  3.3 grams

1 medium pear, with skin  4.3 grams

1/2 cup of raspberries  4.0 grams

1/2 cup of stewed prunes  3.8 grams

Vegetables

1/2 cup of winter squash  2.9 grams

1 medium sweet potato with skin  4.8 grams

1/2 cup of green peas  4.4 grams

1 medium potato with skin  3.8 grams

1/2 cup of mixed vegetables4.0 grams

1 cup of cauliflower 2.5 grams

1/2 cup of spinach 3.5 grams

1/2 cup of turnip greens 2.5 grams

Food Amount Fiber (g) SOURCE: Adapted from Edlin et al., 2002.

Whole-wheat bread 1 slice 1.6

Rye bread 1 slice 1.0

White bread 1 slice 0.6

Brown rice (cooked) ½ cup 2.4

White rice (cooked) ½ cup 0.1

Spaghetti (cooked) ½ cup 0.8

Kidney beans (cooked) ½ cup 5.8

Lima beans (cooked) ½ cup 4.9

Potato (baked) Medium 3.8

Corn ½ cup 3.9

Spinach ½ cup 2.0

Lettuce ½ cup 0.3

Strawberries ¾ cup 2.0

Banana Medium 2.0

Apple (with skin) Medium 2.6

Orange Small 1.2

Black Beans 1/2 cup 9.7

Kidney Beans 1/2 cup 9.7

Chick Peas 1/2 cup 6

Peanuts 1/4 cup 3.25

Peanut Butter, smooth, no salt 2 tbsp 2

Almonds 1/4 cup 4

Brazil nuts 1/4 cup 2.5

Cashews 1/4 cup 1

Walnuts 1/4 cup 2

Amaranth 1/2 cup 9

Brown Rice 1/2 cup 2

Millet 1/2 cup 1

Quinoa 1/2 cup 5

Rolled oats 1/2 cup 4

Whole Wheat Pasta 1 cup 5.7

Whole Wheat English Muffin 1 whole 3.7

Whole Wheat Bread 2 slices 6

White Bread 2 slices 1.9

1 cup cooked dry beans (navy, pinto, red, pink, black, garbanzo, etc.) = 9-19 grams of fiber

1 cup cooked lima beans = 13 grams of fiber

1 cup cooked peas = 9 grams of fiber

1 cup raisin bran cereal = 8 grams of fiber

1 cup canned pumpkin = 7 grams of fiber

1 cup cooked spinach = 7 grams of fiber

1/2 cup whole wheat flour = 7 grams of fiber

1/2 cup soy tempeh = 7 grams of fiber

1/2 cup soy flour = 6 grams of fiber

1/2 cup edamame (whole green soybeans) = 5 grams of fiber

1 cup cooked broccoli = 5 grams of fiber

6 Brussels sprouts = 5 grams of fiber

1 baked sweet potato = 5 grams of fiber

1 cup cooked brown rice = 4 grams of fiber

1 cup cooked old fashioned rolled oats = 4 grams of fiber

1 medium apple = 4 grams of fiber

1 medium orange = 4 grams of fiber

1 cup carrot strips = 4 grams of fiber

1/2 cup raspberries or blackberries = 4 grams of fiber

1 medium banana = 3 grams of fiber

5 dried plums (prunes) = 3 grams of fiber

1 ounce of nuts (almonds, peanuts, pistachios) = 3 grams of fiber

1 baked potato (russet) = 3 grams of fiber

1/4 cup dry roasted sunflower seeds = 3 grams of fiber

1 medium mango = 3 grams of fiber

1 medium tomato = 2 grams of fiber

1 cup pineapple juice = 2 grams of fiber

1/2 cup blueberries = 2 grams of fiber

1 cup romaine lettuce = 1.5 grams of fiber

1/2 cup tofu = 1 gram of fiber