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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, according to researchers.

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 Lisa Strate and colleagues at the University of Washington school of medicine in Seattle.

Their findings came from studying 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.

About 10 per cent of the population over 40 has the condition and, by age 60, about half the population is affected, according to the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Many have no symptoms, but 10 to 25 per cent 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 raised 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-per-cent lower risk of diverticulitis than those who ate them less than once a month, and men who ate the most popcorn had a 28-per-cent lower risk of diverticulitis, they found.

"Our results suggest that nut, corn, and popcorn consumption is not associated with an increased risk of incident diverticulitis or diverticular bleeding, and may be protective for the former," the authors write.

"These findings refute the pervasive but unproven belief that these foods are associated with diverticular complications and suggest that the recommendation to avoid these foods in diverticular disease should be reconsidered."

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases advises that eating a high-fibre diet is the key to colon health, and that nuts and the seeds of tomatoes, zucchinis, strawberries, raspberries and poppies are considered harmless.