A well-balanced diet is highly recommended for people looking to improve their eating habits, reach their weight goals, and succeed in leading an overall healthy lifestyle. Given that everyone has different needs, their diet is usually adjusted to meet them; some focus on the consumption of a balanced percentage of micro and macronutrients, while others, like the keto diet, favor one over the other. An important part of following a diet is that you actually get all the essential nutrients for your body to absorb.
Our medical team at LIMARP® cares about your overall health and wants to offer you all the information you need. The team at the Tijuana, MX, clinic is made up of trained professionals that can help you achieve a healthy lifestyle and guide you on how to maintain it. We also focus on treating diseases or syndromes to improve your quality of life. This article focuses on malabsorption syndrome, its symptoms, causes, and how to treat it. For more information, schedule an appointment with us.
How Do We Absorb Nutrients?
When you consume your food, your digestive system starts breaking it down from the moment you start chewing. Once it passes from your esophagus to your stomach, the glands on the stomach lining creates acid and enzymes that continue to break down the food to then mix it with digestive juices. The digestive process goes on, passing the food from the stomach, to the pancreas, liver, gallbladder, until it reaches the small intestine.
The small intestine is responsible for making digestive juice that mixes with bile and pancreatic juice to complete the breakdown of macronutrients, which includes protein, carbohydrates, and fat. The nutrients that come from macros mainly supply us with energy, while other nutrients, such as sugar, vitamins, and acids create substances for growth and cell repair. All of these nutrients are absorbed by the lining in the small intestine and travel through your circulatory system, reaching your organs and other parts of the body that may need them.
While maintaining a balanced diet can help your body absorb all the nutrients it needs, there are several factors that can prevent this from happening. One of them may be that you’re not ingesting certain amounts or types of food, so you could be deficient in certain nutrient levels. This can be remedied by consulting your doctor or dietitian, they can adjust your diet or recommend supplements.
What is Malabsorption Syndrome?
Malabsorption presents itself when there’s abnormality in the nutrient absorption process across the gastrointestinal tract. This syndrome can range from selective malabsorption, which means that only a single nutrient is being malabsorbed, to generalized malabsorption. The latter develops when the small intestine struggles or stops all completely to process and absorb the dietary nutrients from the food you consume. This can affect the growth and development of a person, as well as cause several illnesses.
There are many factors that can cause malabsorption and while one is not exclusive to another, it’s important to keep them in mind if you start to present symptoms. Next, we’ll show some of the causes for malabsorption:
- Conditions such as celiac disease, chronic pancreatitis, or cystic fibrosis
- A prolonged use of certain antibiotics
- Damage to the intestine
- Congenital defects
- Parasitic diseases
- Whipple’s disease
- Short bowel syndrome
If you suffer from any of these conditions, contact your doctor so they can order somes tests and confirm if you do suffer from malabsorption. These tests may include stool tests, blood tests, a biopsy, or imaging tests; if these tests don’t present any abnormalities, malabsorption may not be the problem.
Symptoms of Malabsorption
We’ve already established what may cause malabsorption, but symptoms may still present themselves even though you don’t have any of the aforementioned conditions. The symptoms may vary from person to person and on the specific nutrients that are not being properly absorbed; they can also present themselves in different ways, meaning that not all symptoms are gastrointestinal. The lack of certain nutrient deficiencies can, in some cases, cause infertility, impotence, and dermatitis.
However, the most common symptoms of malabsorption are gastrointestinal and they can vary according to the type of nutrient that your body is not absorbing. For example, if your body is not absorbing enough fat, your main symptom may be soft, foul-smelling stool, while if you’re lacking protein, you may experience fluid retention and bloating. Micronutrients, such as sugar and vitamins, are essential for your health and the malabsorption of these nutrients will cause more uncomfortable symptoms, such as explosive diarrhea, anemia, malnutrition, weight loss, muscle wasting, and low blood pressure.
Other symptoms of malabsorption can also affect people based on their gender; for example, women who are not getting certain nutrients can stop menstruating. Children can also present symptoms wherein their growth development is stunted or their rate of weight gain is vastly different from other kids their age. If you or someone you know starts presenting these symptoms, it’s important to contact your doctor in order to confirm if it’s malabsorption or any other condition that may be hindering your health.
Is Malabsorption Treatable?
Yes.
After receiving your test results, your doctor will prescribe a treatment to address your symptoms and they will monitor you to ensure that your body is responding well to said treatment. At LIMARP®, our team of doctors work together to establish a health plan that’s best for you. This means that while your doctor may prescribe medication to treat certain symptoms, they will also refer you to a licensed dietitian so that they can create a diet plan where you get all the nutrients you need. This plan may include supplements or a whole dietary change that treats your malabsorption symptoms.
Another treatment can include enzyme supplements to treat certain food intolerances or general insufficiencies. These supplements range according to the lack in nutrients that’s causing the malabsorption in the body. Keep in mind that if malabsorption is a symptom of a bigger, underlying problem, the treatment will be different and specific to your condition.
Malabsorption is not always curable, but there are treatments that can make it manageable or other lifestyle adjustments that can relieve the symptoms. If your situation worsens or you don’t see any improvement, contact your doctor to seek alternative solutions.
Contact Us to Learn More
If you think you suffer from malabsorption or present any of the aforementioned symptoms, schedule an appointment with one of our doctors. We can help determine the right treatment for you. Contact us online anytime or give us a call at (619) 373-0229.