Diverticulitis: the debilitating bowel disorder that’s weakening our guts

About 1% of the UK population is likely to be hospitalised in their lifetime due to the condition. But scientists don’t know what causes itJohn Slater, a former railway worker who lives in Boston, Lincolnshire, was 40 when he first went to the doctor with gut problems. Along with “colossal” lower abdominal cramps, he had started passing blood from his rectum. His doctor thought he had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and then, when the bleeding worsened, an ulcer was suspected. I