However, in order for you to be fully in charge, you need to understand some facts first. When you’re armed with what’s really going on, it makes it so much easier learn what you need to do to avoid or mitigate the problem.

First, these intestinal changes don’t develop over night. Due to dietary habits, the problem takes a while to form, and then be noticed by the affected person. Diverticulum are small pockets in the intestine wall which develop when the intestine has to work too hard to move food through it. The great strain causes these hazardous pockets to form. They can become infected, sore, or even break open and harm your health.

But why do they form? And why “now more than ever”?

It’s not your fault. Just look around at the foods readily available to everyone. They’re usually full of refined flour & there isn’t a lot of ‘whole grain’ that tastes delicious as an option for you. The combination of not enough liquid throughout the day, along with not enough soluble and insoluble fiber can add up to intestinal trouble.

Fiber is important for your health on many different levels. Once you understand the benefits of fiber, you can use it to combat many common problems! There are 6 main points to keep in mind.

Second:
Fiber-rich foods are processed more slowly by the body. This is a great benefit if you’re trying to lose weight. When foods process more slowly, you feel ‘satisfied’ or ‘full’ much faster than normal. This makes it easy to eat less at mealtime. It also keeps you feeling full or satisfied longer.

Third:
By packing in fiber, the food you eat is less calorically dense. The fiber fills you up, and performs its important roles, but ISNT absorbed by the body to turn into extra calories and fat. Both soluble & insolube fiber are indigestible, so they can't be turned into calories for you.

Fourth:
Reduce your risk of colon cancer. When the food you eat has enough fiber in it, it does not spend very long in the intestines. Bile acid doesn’t get re-absorbed. Unwelcome bacteria don’t get a chance to ferment food in the intestines. Toxins don’t build up or have the opportunity to be absorbed into the body because everything “Keeps on moving”. Thirteen case-control studies were recently published on the use of fiber in the diet. They concluded with substantiated evidence that the risk of colorectal cancer in the USA could be decreased by 31% JUST by adding 13 grams more fiber each day. But is that easy to do? Just keep reading.

Fifth:
Cholesterol and blood glucose. Everyone knows about cholesterol levels, good and bad. There have been so many studies on it as a risk-factor for heart attacks and heart disease. There’s plenty you can do naturally to help lower cholesterol, but did you know getting enough fiber will help too? Soluble fiber has been proven to lower blood cholesterol levels. It also helps to use up bile acid, which is a substance the liver makes by using up cholesterol. Encourage it to use up cholesterol by providing lots of fiber.

Sixth:
Beneficial bacteria (Probiotic bacteria that you hear about in yogurt ads) contribute a lot to colon health. You may not be able to digest soluble fiber, but it's grade-a food for these little helpers. Soluble fiber is a "prebiotic" to feed your "probiotic" bacteria. Help them help keep you healthy by adding extra soluble fiber to your meal plan.

But if fiber is so beneficial, why isn’t "anyone getting enough"?

There’s plenty of fiber in apple peels, celery stalks, whole-grains like oats and flax…but these foods don’t always fit into what people think is delicious or convenient. Fast food & restaurant fare is notoriously low in fiber. “An apple a day…” is rarely practiced by anyone. What about fiber pills or powders? These can be expensive, gritty, or “Just another pill” among a handful that people already didn’t really want to choke down every day. Plus, with supplement pills or powders, the body misses out on important oils, micronutrients and anti-oxidants available in plant fiber sources.

What can YOU do about it?

The modern diet, modern busy schedule & modern cravings for tasty foods aren't going away any time soon. However, the power to save yourself from a range of digestive problems by adding fiber easily could be in your hands. Now that you have a basic understanding of what fiber can do for you, and how it works, it’s time to take easy action and get your fiber intake under your own control.

What you need, are seeds!

Chia Seeds, to be exact. These seeds are loaded with soluble & insoluble fiber. In fact, it is their special type of fiber that allows the seeds to form a bead of gel on their exterior when exposed to liquid. The fibers trap more than nine times the weight of the seed in water, and hold it close to the outside. Chia has the soluble fiber you can really see. (You can learn more about Chia Seed Hydration.) But, what does this mean for you?

Easier digestion: The liquid clings to the seed, and is removed slowly throughout the digestive process. This keeps the colon hydrated, so it’s easier to move food.

The seed shell that you see in the photo above is made of insoluble fiber. It’s this type of fiber that isn’t digested by the body and is sometimes called ‘roughage’. It acts like a ‘sweeper’ moving things along in the intestinal tract and preventing constipation.

But why specifically the chia seed?
Because chia can be added to almost anything you already like to eat. No one wants to sprinkle fiber powder onto their pizza. No one wants whole grain bread all the time, every time. Chia is fantastic because it has NO FLAVOR at all. It tastes like nothing. It's very small. These factors combine to allow you to add fiber easily to low fiber foods you enjoy. For example: a white bread PB&J ordinarily wouldn't have much fiber. But, when you sprinkle chia seeds onto the PB while you make the sandwich...you can potentially add more fiber than if you'd chosen some tough, bland whole-grain bread. You enjoy the food you want, AND you get the fiber.

Fiber isn’t the only thing…remember the above points? Chia Seeds have you covered on all six points. You can even literally see the viscous (appears like a gelatin or gummy) fibers on the outside when you make Chia gel. These help lower blood cholesterol and normalize blood glucose and insulin levels.

It’s time to feel full longer, reduce your cholesterol, and reduce or help prevent colon problems. MySeeds Chia Seeds are incredibly easy to use. They have no flavor of their own, so you can add them to anything you already like to eat. If they are allowed to hydrate in a liquid food (like yogurt, juice or cola) they will take on the flavor of that food. In cooking, because of their ability to distribute flavors, they can actually make the food more flavorful! You can use as much or as little chia as you want to get the effect you desire.

A tablespoon of Chia a day is generally what most people require for general good health and nutrition. Chia seeds are incredibly safe and simple to use, so you don’t need to worry about having too much. The seeds also contain essential micro-nutrients, omega 3 healthy oils and b-vitamins. No fiber substitute can do all of that, while tasting as great and being as versatile as Chia. When you add Chia to your meals, you’re guaranteeing that you and your family are getting the fiber your body requires.

NOW is the time to take control of your digestive health, and the easiest answer is MySeedsChia.

This article is also published on Article Alley This (the above) article is not intended as medical advice. The Chia Seed has not been proven to treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Michael Picco MD (From the Mayo Clinic) has this to say:

"In the past, many doctors recommended that people with diverticulosis avoid seeds and nuts, including foods with small seeds, such as tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries. It was thought that these tiny particles could lodge in the diverticula and cause inflammation (diverticulitis). But there is no scientific evidence that seeds and nuts cause diverticulitis flares. In fact, eating a high-fiber diet — which may include nuts and seeds — may reduce the risk of diverticular disease."

Dr. Weil MD (author of several health books, and a website) says:

"I think it's fine to experiment with some seeds or nuts to find out whether or how much you can tolerate these foods. Another important strategy to prevent an attack is to add other types of fiber to your diet in the form of wheat bran or psyllium. You can buy powdered psyllium seed husks at health food stores without the sweeteners and dyes found in drugstore products. Be sure to drink plenty of water when you're taking these bulking agents. You also may feel better during diverticulitis attacks if you take a stool softener such as Dialose, Colace, or another brand containing docusate, a drug that is available over-the-counter. Try to relieve stress through deep breathing exercises, yoga, or other stress-reduction methods. In the past, many doctors recommended that people with diverticulosis avoid foods with small seeds such as tomatoes or strawberries because they believed that the particles could lodge in the diverticula and cause inflammation. While there's no evidence supporting this idea, some people do find that eating nuts and seeds during an attack of diverticulitis can be irritating to the inflamed intestinal lining, so for them I would suggest staying away from them."

Dr. Timothy Harlan MD (Also known as Dr. Gourmet)

"In the past there has been some controversy about the treatment of this problem with many doctors telling their patients with diverticulosis to not eat popcorn, seeds, nuts or foods that contain seeds, such as those found in tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries. In the past there was never any solid research to support this, however. In the last few years good studies have disproved that a problem exists.

I have always thought the theory a bit silly but almost certainly so with strawberry seeds (those things are tiny!). Guidelines no longer make this recommendation, and I do not for my patients. The studies have shown that the only dietary change that will make a difference for those with diverticulosis is a high fiber diet (and of course, a high fiber diet is the recommendation for all of us).

One of the largest studies on this subject was published just last week. Researchers looked at more than 47,000 men over 18 years as part of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. The most fascinating finding was that those men who ate the most nuts and popcorn actually had lower risk of infection. In short, no association was found between an increased risk of diverticulitis and eating nuts, popcorn or corn. (JAMA. 2008;300(8):907-914)"

The USA Government also weighs in on the issue with this page:

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/diverticulosis/

All quotes and studies were created by, and belong to, their original authors.