Daft question alert

[frazzledom]

I've been on a low carb diet which was going great. I suffered from pain on one side prior to low carb and was booked in for investigations. They then found out I had diverticulitis disease. The low carb really helped manage it even though they sometimes say add fibre etc. However, I have also just had a large 3cm colon polyp removed (long story but they lost it and found it again. Yippee!) It's gone off to be biopsied.

So I've been lost with my diet as dr google says red meat and fat are not good for colon polyps. I've been debating going plant-based but then I love eggs etc and cheese.

Daft question but what is a healthy diet these days?

It's not a daft question it's a difficult one, because we're all different. I follow my blood type for health which explains a lot about allergies e.g. everyone thinks that tomatoes are healthy and they are for some people, but they give me eczema and rosacea so i don't eat them!

If you know which blood type you are (you can get apps etc. to help you) then you can be healthy!

Thanks ppeatfruit. Eek I'm unsure. Will have to ask mum think I'm A or A +
I've been reading about colon diets and it says plenty of fruit and veg but the diverticulitis says avoid seeds etc. Even tiny ones like strawberry skin. At this rate I will be eating nothing but veg and chicken/turkey and fish.

I'm an A type too, you can eat most things, lots of greens but not 'deadly nightshade' veg. like potatoes, aubergines, tomatoes. Go easy on cows dairy! A little turkey and chicken but fish is better for you.

Most fruit is good actually, maybe wait till your diverculitis has healed before strwberries. I always eat it on an empty stomach for my health.

I have diverticulitis. You need high fibre generally but low fibre during an attack. I find that overeating, particularly dairy and sugar, really triggers attacks. So, high protein isn’t all about red meat. Low sugar is always a good idea. This is all very individual and you need to work out what works for you.

Thanks 3dogs2cats,
I think I could deal with the diverculitis it's just this colon thing that has sent me into a tizz. The diet I've been following seems wrong to avoid future colon problems. I do eat a lot of cooked ham, beef etc. on low carb. I also avoid potatoes, rice and lentils etc. I'm just lost with it all.

Be very careful with ham and steak. For carbs I eat pure rye bread not wholemeal wheat, much easier to digest. Whole rice , quinoa is good.

Thanks Ppeatfruit
Can I ask, this blood group thing does it actually work? Is there evidence to back it up?

From what I am reading I should be following a low fat diet. The problem with this is I've read too many diet books and this goes against what I have read.

frazzledom I've followed it for 20 years and I'm never ill (I'm old!) It's worth looking at. dh turns his nose up at it (not completely though) but he's not healthy.

I have the encyclopedia it's useful for which supplements suit us. My dd1 does it and is much healthier than dd2 and ds who don't! It's not taken seriously by the NHS I don't know why, maybe it would change how the big medic. firms would work.

It is of course complicated.

Have you googled it? There are some strange crits of it. If it didn't work I wouldn't do it!

I'd be wary of the blood type diet as although it seems good on paper, it might not suit you.

I looked at this way of eating a few decades ago - I'm A positive, and it recommends a mostly vegetarian diet with lots of soy protein/tofu, grains and legumes, and some oily fish.

Fish aside, I'm actually unable to digest most of the foods they recommended I should be eating. I have to avoid foods high in FODMAPS, so this way of eating would have made me really quite unwell.

Maybe seek advice from your specialist and also a dietician.

I'd also suggest avoiding all sugar and anything processed. Eat organic too.

I go by my experience and have found it very helpful. I don't follow it slavishly though. Especially as I get older, (the neutral foods are sometimes not without negative effects) It is more complex than just the blood type though, whether your gut secretes your blood type or not is important too. The recent research on gut biomes and genomes underlines this

I agree about avoiding sugar (and most artificial sweeteners too) and obviously eating organic fresh food is the best way to eat as well. I hope your Fodmap means that your are without illness.

Thanks Ppeatfruit, yes been researching lots. I have to say I'm still on the fence. Though it's good that's it helped you.

I feel for you, Stellarockafella I had to try FODMAP when they said I had IBS (before the polyp was found) it's hard and confusing. I only dabbled at it though

Apparently a good way to start is to just drop the 'avoid' foods and see how you feel in a couple of weeks. My body usually tells me if a food disagrees with me. But lthough coffee is beneficial for A types I found that needed more to taste it. So rather than give in to the addiction I stopped an everyday cup (it was only one ground cup a day!) but i lost weight quite by chance! When I DO have one, every 2 weeks or so, it speeds up my metabolic rate!

I tell you what it's helped dh too, he's very allergic to all pork products, if I hadn't mentioned that NO ONE is good with it. He stopped eating it and he would've been in a wheelchair if he hadn't. ds too finally stopped eating dairy, he's an A type. he said to me that I was right, he had a bad cat hair allergy which is now better.

I think it's worth giving it a go for your health's sake. If it's not good for you you won't have lost anything.