Popcorn, nuts, corn and diverticular disease risk in men over 18 years
What it found
Men who ate popcorn or nuts at least twice a week had a lower chance of developing inflamed gut pouches.
Eating corn made no difference, and none of the foods were linked to gut bleeding.
What they found
Studies in people
Popcorn and inflamed pouches
Men who ate popcorn at least twice a week were less likely to develop inflamed gut pouches than men who ate it less than once a month. This link held up after accounting for other habits like fiber intake and exercise.
Nuts and inflamed pouches
Eating nuts at least twice a week was also linked to a lower chance of inflamed gut pouches compared with eating them rarely.
Corn showed no link
How often men ate corn did not change their chances of getting inflamed gut pouches or pouch bleeding.
No link to bleeding
Eating popcorn, nuts or corn was not tied to bleeding from gut pouches in these men.
Berries with small seeds
The researchers also looked at strawberries and blueberries, which have tiny seeds. Eating these berries was not linked to inflamed pouches or bleeding either.
What the authors conclude
- They say that eating popcorn, nuts and corn did not raise the risk of gut pouch problems in these men.
- They suggest that doctors should rethink the common advice telling patients to avoid these foods.
- The authors note that popcorn and nuts might even help protect against inflamed pouches.
How it was done
Doctors often tell patients with gut pouches to avoid popcorn, nuts, corn and seeds because they might get stuck and cause inflammation or bleeding. The authors wanted to check if there was any proof behind this advice.
They followed 47,228 male health professionals aged 40 to 75 for 18 years. Every few years the men filled out questionnaires about their diet and any new diagnoses of gut pouch problems. During that time, 801 men developed inflamed pouches and 383 had pouch bleeding.
What it can’t tell you
- This study only followed men, so scientists do not yet know if the same patterns apply to women or younger people.
- Because the researchers tracked people over time rather than assigning diets, they can show a link but cannot prove that popcorn or nuts directly prevent inflamed pouches.
- Diet and medical problems were reported by the men themselves, which could introduce some errors.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NCI NIH HHS; AHRQ HHS; NHLBI NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- University of Washington School of Medicine, USA
The paper
- Title
- Nut, corn, and popcorn consumption and the incidence of diverticular disease
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Strate LL, Liu YL, Syngal S, Aldoori WH, Giovannucci EL (2008). Nut, corn, and popcorn consumption and the incidence of diverticular disease. JAMA. doi:10.1001/jama.300.8.907Free full textPubMed 18728264DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error