I looked back to see if I had contributed to this discussion any time in the past. Apparently not ~ although I am sure that I have addressed this subject in other threads.

I've got diverticuli; I usually get "osis" and "itis" mixed up and say the wrong word. My case is chronic and fairly mild; I've never gotten infected and really sick, but I've been miserable with a condition that can only be described as combining the worst of constipation and diarrhea. Read on only if you dare; you've been warned!

It took a long time for me to get a correct diagnosis and then to learn from internet sources ~ not from a doctor! ~ to avoid nuts and seeds. Before that, I had been going out of my way to eat "roughage," and therefore ate plenty of stuff that had actually been making my condition worse!

As soon as I stopped eating the offending items, I became absolutely "regular." I just wish it hadn't taken so long.

I had undergone multiple scopings that turned up no results ~ that is, no cancerous developments. It was only after the second intrusion, after I demanded some explanation for the symptoms I had been experiencing, that the examing doc said, "Oh, yeah, well, you do have some diverticuli in there..."

Sure, I was glad not to have colon cancer, but that's not the only problem a person could have, and I needed to learn about my condition, cancer or not!

With my condition, anything that gets through the digetive system and remains solid all the way to the colon (lower intestine) can wreak havoc with the, ahem, eliminative function. Tiny seeds (as in strawberries, unfortunately, among other things) can be the worst, which makes me reluctant to even try fine-ground nuts. Well, completely ground down to nut "butter" is OK.

This is my theory: when solid objects are still in the mix when digested food gets to the colon, and when the inner walls of the colon are lined with "potholes" (diverticuli), the bits stick in the perforations. I believe that the body somehow "senses" this as the colon being full of completely processed waste matter, when it is not. The person then feels the unmistakable sense that he/she needs to defecate, but either (a) little or nothing is there ready to be excreted, or (b) there is a bit of waste matter, but it has not yet become normally ready-to-go ~ it'll be more acidic or corrosive than normal, often more liquid than solid, etc. Nasty!