Spaw, thanks for the highly detailed input about diverticular disease. I, too, occasionally take a chance and try little bits of varous foods that have come to scare me. For example, I'll occasionally eat a serving of strawberry shortcake when the luscious Louisiana strawberries are at their best ~ I can live with a bit of irregularity the next day when it's really worth it!

Seriously, I know for sure that popcorn wreaks havoc with my system, but I'm much less sure that regular corn will hurt me. On the basis of your encouragement, I'll start giving corn-on-the-cob another chance. It's crawfish-boil season now, and the ears of corn and new potatoes customarily boiled in spices along with the mudbugs have always been among my favorite delicacies.

Even if I may have been overly cautious in the few years since I learned what to avoid because of my condition, I haven't found things too terribly difficult and certainly have not fallen into the drama-queen/victimn/martyr role over avoiding a few optional food choices. It's not such a great sacrifice to buy seedless rye bread, to select Nestles Crunch instead of Snickers at a vending machine, or to order my fried oyster po-boy with lettuce and mynez but no tomato.