Can eating certain food cause appendicitis?

Question

When I was a little kid I loved garlic. But It was too tedious for me to peel it, so I ate it without peeling it first. My mom would always tell me that the peel is like garbage and that it does not get digested. And if it is not digested, part of it ends up in the appendix. And when there is too much stuff ends up there your appendix gets inflamed and you need a surgery to remove it. It's called appendicitis she would say.

Is this true, or is there some grain of truth in what she was claiming? Not the existence of appendicitis, obviously, but that person's eating habits can lead to appendicitis?

Answer 1

Can fruit seeds and undigested plant residuals cause acute appendicitis

The ratio of acute appendicitis caused by plants is minimal among all appendectomised patients, but avoidence of eating undigested fruit seeds and chewing plants well may help to prevent appendicitis.

So yes, eating habits can cause appendicitis, but it is minimal. This is partially due to some appendicitis's being caused by obstruction and the food particles can increase risk.