Malabsorption refers to decreased intestinal absorption of carbohydrate, protein, fat, minerals or vitamins. There are many symptoms associated with malabsorption. Weight loss, diarrhea, greasy stools (due to high fat content), abdominal bloating and gas are suggestive of malabsorption.
Some symptoms, such as fatty stools and chronic diarrhea, or evident anemia and muscle wasting, are highly suggestive of malabsorption and malnutrition. Other cases may be more subtle. Your healthcare provider will follow up with appropriate tests to narrow down the causes of your distress.
Malabsorption is when your body has trouble digesting food and absorbing nutrients. Common symptoms include bloating, weight loss, fatigue, muscle weakness, abdominal discomfort, bad smelling stools, rashes, swollen feet and hands, and nausea and vomiting.
Chronic diarrhea is the most common symptom and is what usually prompts evaluation of the patient. Steatorrhea—fatty stool, the hallmark of malabsorption—occurs when > 7 g/day of fat are excreted. Steatorrhea causes foul-smelling, pale, bulky, and greasy stools.
If fat is being malabsorbed, a low fat diet should be consumed. Certain oils called medium chain triglyceride oils are easier to absorb in certain disease states and may be helpful as a calorie supplement. For carbohydrate malabsorption, disaccharides, specifically lactose, often must be restricted.
Malabsorption can cause deficiencies of all nutrients or selective deficiencies of proteins, fats, sugars, vitamins, or minerals. People with malabsorption usually lose weight or have difficulty maintaining their weight despite adequate consumption of food.
Regardless of the cause, malabsorption syndrome refers to the clinical picture comprising diarrhea, steatorrhea, malnutrition, weight loss, abdominal pain, and anemia. Undigested food produces diarrhea, due to its voluminous effect in the bowel lumen.
Diarrhea is the most common symptomatic complaint. It is frequently is watery, reflecting the osmotic load received by the intestine.
Treatment may include diet changes and supplements. If left untreated, malabsorption syndrome can cause complications like a weak immune system, nutrient deficiencies, and osteoporosis.
Hematologic tests indicated in the workup of malabsorption include the following: A complete blood cell (CBC) count may reveal microcytic anemia due to iron deficiency or macrocytic anemia due to vitamin B12 (cobalamin) or B9 (folate) malabsorption.
If you suspect you are struggling to digest fats, a number of things could be going on. Problems with the pancreas – The pancreas is responsible for producing pancreatic lipase which plays an important role in breaking down the fats that we eat.
Steatorrhea means that you have excessive amounts of fat in your poop. Fatty poops are different from normal poops. They tend to be looser, smellier and paler in color, like clay. They might float.
Dietary fat is the nutrient most difficult to absorb. Fatty stools (steatorrhea) are the hallmark of malabsorption; a stool test for fat is the best screening test. Malabsorption does not always cause diarrhea. Clinical signs of vitamin or mineral deficiencies may occur in the absence of diarrhea.
There are three stages of nutrient absorption: luminal, mucosal, postabsorptive. Malabsorption syndromes are categorized according to which of these three stages is or are affected. The luminal phase involves mechanical mixing and digestive enzymes.
The Malabsorption Blood Test (MBT), consisting of pentadecanoic acid (PA), a free fatty acid and triheptadecanoic acid (THA), a triglyceride that requires pancreatic lipase for absorption of the heptadecanoic acid (HA), was developed to assess fat malabsorption in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and pancreatic ...
Chronic bowel inflammation or intestinal surgery may accelerate the intestinal transit. A rapid gastrointestinal transit may limit the contact time of the luminal contents with the mucosal surface, thus leading to malabsorption and resulting in greater stool volume and diarrhea.
Malabsorption and IBS
You will be relieved to know that it is not believed that IBS results in the malabsorption of many key nutrients. However, some malabsorption problems may be behind your IBS symptoms.
There are three different digestive enzymes that break down foods into nutrients for your body to use—protease breaks down proteins, amylase breaks down carbohydrates, and lipase breaks down fats. A deficiency in lipase can lead to fat malabsorption and your body may need to get lipase from another source.
When you have fat malabsorption, avoid fatty foods, such as cakes, biscuits, fatty meats, full-fat dairy, fast food, margarine and butter. In addition, avoid adding fats during food preparation and do not fry foods. You should still include meat in your diet, but choose lean cuts. When cooking chicken, remove the skin.