A vendor sells dry fruits and nuts at a market in Lanzhou, northwest China’s Gansu province, March 14, 2007. CHINA OUT (Stringer/Reuters)

CHICAGO (Reuters) -
Contrary to popular belief and common
medical advice, eating seeds, nuts, corn and popcorn does not
cause the bowel disease diverticulosis or its painful
complications, researchers said on Tuesday.

In fact, nuts and popcorn may even provide some protection
from the complications and those who avoid nuts may be
depriving themselves of valuable nutrients, said Dr. Lisa
Strate and colleagues at the University of Washington School of
Medicine in Seattle.

Their findings came from a look at more than 47,000 male
U.S. medical professionals who were followed for a variety of
health issues for 18 years beginning in 1986.

Diverticulosis is the development of small pouches in the
colon that bulge outward through weak spots.

In the United States, about 10 percent of the population
over age 40 has the condition and, by age 60, about half of the
population is affected, according to the National Institute of
Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Many have no symptoms but 10 to 25 percent of those with
diverticulosis can have attacks of diverticulitis caused by
inflammation in the pouches.

The University of Washington team, in a report published in
this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, said
there was no scientific evidence that eating seeds, nuts, corn
or popcorn raises the risk for diverticulosis.

But they noted a recent survey of colorectal surgeons found
that nearly half felt their patients should avoid those foods.

The researchers said they found 801 new cases of
diverticulitis and 383 new cases of diverticular bleeding among
the men over the course of the study.

Men who ate nuts twice a week or more had a 20 percent
lower risk of diverticulitis than those who ate them less than
once a month, and men who ate the most popcorn had a 28 percent
lower risk of diverticulitis, they found.

The findings show “nut, corn and popcorn consumption did
not increase the risk of diverticulosis or (its)
complications,” the report concluded.

The NIDDK, one of the National Institutes of Health,
advises that eating a high-fiber diet is the key to colon
health, and that nuts and such seeds as tomato, zucchini,
strawberry, raspberry and poppy are considered harmless.

(Editing by Maggie Fox and John O'Callaghan)