The Colon Club

Can you eat it? Does it mess with you?

I am slowly coming to a conclusion that I don't want-but I think should leave popcorn alone. However, I'd love to be wrong.
Popcorn is my comfort food.

Can you eat popcorn or does it cause you potty problems?

It was one of the foods I was told to avoid eating right after surgery. I'm sure I'd be fine eating it now, but I haven't tried it yet.

Cat:
What makes popcorn problematic is the fact that popcorn is high in insoluble fiber and has pesky husks and unpopped kernels.

For an intestinal tract that is healing from surgery or that has a stoma, the passage of popcorn can be irritating and painful - akin to a kitchen scrub brush passing through the intestine. For someone with a stoma, UNpopped kernels can be difficult to pass through a small lumen opening.

The potential grievances of popcorn:
1. Internal intestinal irritation due to rough, prickly husks;
2. High proportion of insoluble fiber that can cause formation of a large food bolts that is difficult to pass;
3. limited aperature of a stoma, stoma opening not wide enough to pass kernels with ease. Painful is an understatement.

As with most food items and the intestine, giving the intestine sufficient time to heal after a resection or stoma placement before nibbling on popcorn is key. I would suggest 2-3 months of healing for a colon resection without a stoma and 3-4 months of healing with a stoma before reintroducing popcorn.

When you do decide to reintroduce popcorn, a few caveats:
1. Pick out the unopposed kernels and the larger husks. You want to reduce internal irritation of the intestinal tract and the possibility of a formed popcorn bolus that would be difficult to pass.
2. Eat a small serving, very small, to see how your body reacts to popcorn. 1/3 cup or less to start. The husks and unopposed kernels are the most troubling along with the insoluble fiber. Popcorn can be internally irritating to a healing intestinal tract.

For true popcorn affectionadoes, there are store brands of "huskless popcorn." Look at your local store or Amazon.

Soft corn "puffs" are another alternative to genuine popcorn. "Booty's Bounty" is one brand of soft corn puffs (similar to soft
Cheetoes).

It is probably best to always avoid going back to consuming a large tub of popcorn, as one may have enjoyed pre diagnosis. Rough husks and kernels are never going to be best favorite friends with your GI tract.
- K -

I eat it occasionally with no issue but my surgery was years ago.

Popcorn husks are like rectal shrapnel for me still. Pirate's Booty is a good substitute.

I haven't been able to eat popcorn since my surgery in 2014. Popcorn gives me horrible cramping, bloating and diarrhea. I can eat popcorn chips though.

I can eat a tiny amount of popcorn, but I absolutely cannot eat peanuts. They are my rectal shrapnel!!!!