rice cakes

[sadie124]

I'm a popcorn lover but have not eaten popcorn in 4 years due to diverticulitis. I was wondering about eating rice cakes - the lable states corn( with germ removed) I'm not clear on what exactly this means and have not found a sufficient answer on a google search. Does anyone have experience eating rice cakes in your diet on a somewhat regular basis to replace popcorn. Have you found this to be ok?
Thanks,
Sadie

[racheleventura]

I have gastritis and diverticulitis and have been eating rice cakes a lot lately. my stomach seems pretty swollen and i can;t think of any other thing that i have eaten that could be the issue. Did a doctor say it is ok to eat rice cakes? lol

[msmouse175]

I have IRB syndrom, along with Diverticulosis, and I eat Quakers rice cakes (cinnamon flavor) all the time as they are lower in calories than my other favorite snacks, and so far so good.  (about 3 weeks).
so I don't see eating the rice snacks a problem at all.

[LivingInHope]

You melt your own butter (amount: to taste) and drizzle it over and mix it up.  If you aren't on a salt restricted diet, you can add a little of that... I like that but my sibling doesn't like salt added.  A cardiologist instructed me to eat plenty of salt in my diet though.   I would have a tough time with rice cakes anymore myself even if wanted to because I have major TMJ problems, including arthritis in the jaws.  Maybe you could try both and see what you prefer?

You are right, puffed rice is a cereal, but not a very filling cereal- I eat it for a snack or when I've got stomach problems, for easy digestion.  It can be bought quite inexpensively- we get ours at Walmart.  

[sadie124]

Thank you to each of you that provided and answer.
This is very helpful.
On the puffed rice with butter - does the product name state puffed rice with butter or do you apply your own butter? Also, my understanding is that this product is a cereal.
Again, thank you very much.

[FurballsMom]

LOL.  Yep.

[LivingInHope]

You sound like a connoisseur in rice cakes!  :0)

[FurballsMom]

For a lot of reasons, besides the GI issues, I avoid all corn, so I use rice cakes instead of popcorn, and I am with  SurgiMenopause about preferences.  I prefer the rice cakes, too.  I would think that rice and rice cakes would be better than popcorn all around, because the rice doesn't have that hard outer hull that popcorn has that can be an obvious issue for some GI issues.  I like the puffed rice suggestion, too, although I still prefer the rice cakes.  If you live close to a Trader Joe's, their brand is puffier than the denser Lundberg's.  I actually prefer the Lundberg's, but with diverticulitis, I would go with something like the Trader Joe's brand or the Quaker brand, which is easier to obtain than Trader Joe's brand, or even Safeway's brand.  These three brands are puffier than the yummy organic Lundberg's, so it seems like they would be easier on the GI tract.

[LivingInHope]

I'm a popcorn lover and I heard recently from a GI doctor about how views are changing about diverticulosis and popcorn, so you might want to ask yours about this.  But my understanding the concern with popcorn kernels and seeds is that they might get stuck in those diverticula pouches and cause inflammation (diverticulitis).  So therefore, I see no reason why you couldn't eat rice cakes, since I wouldn't think they would get hung up in those pouches and scrape and irritate, causing inflammation.

However, as a huge popcorn lover myself (I suck on mine and am not supposed to eat it because of TMJ arthritis, etc.), might I recommend what might be a better substitute?  It something a sibling eats in place of popcorn- puffed rice with butter.  You can buy it inexpensively by the bag in the cereal section.  I like it myself.  And I used to eat rice cakes for awhile and I would say I think I prefer puffed rice with butter myself!