A little more than 100 years ago, medical writers commented on diverticula of the bowel as a medical curiosity.
Now, diverticular disease is the commonest bowel disorder, with more than a third of those over the age of 40 suffering from it.
A diverticulum is a pocket or blowout of the lower bowel. It is really a hernia of the inner coat of the bowel wall, the mucosa, through the muscular coat at the point where the blood vessels penetrate and leave a weak spot.
The increase of this disease is thought to be due to the change in the diet of Western nations. As affluence increases, so diet changes, with indigestible fibre or bulk being removed and foods becoming highly refined.
We once thought this bulk was unnecessary. Now we realise that our bowel needs it to function properly.
In those countries which have this refined diet and in those developing countries changing their diet, several unrelated diseases of the bowel have become more common. These are appendicitis, haemorrhoids or piles, diverticulitis and cancer of the bowel.
When the diet is high in fibre or indigestible residue, the transit time for passage of food through the whole gut is about 30 hours.
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