What Causes Diverticula to Develop?
Diverticula can range in size from as thin as a penny nail to as large as a small marble. It’s believed that they develop at naturally weak points in your colon wall that are vulnerable to pressure often locations where blood vessels pass through to supply the inner tissue. They begin as small protrusions but can increase in size over time. Aging is considered a major factor because your colon’s interior tends to narrow as the muscular wall thickens with age, increasing pressure within the colon and slowing down the movement of waste through your intestine. The slower waste moves, the harder and drier it becomes and the more pressure it exerts on the wall. Diet that includes too little fiber is also considered a major factor in the development of diverticula. The development of diverticulitis essentially mirrored the advance of 20th Century food manufacturing technology that emphasized foods from which fiber has been removed processed foods generally and especially bread made with refi
