The small intestine normally absorbs most nutrients, but conditions like celiac disease, Crohn's disease, SIBO, or short bowel syndrome cause it to fail, leading to poor absorption of fats (causing fatty stools, malabsorption of A, D, E, K vitamins), proteins, carbohydrates (bloating/gas), minerals (calcium, zinc, iron), and water, resulting in deficiencies and issues like osteoporosis, anemia, and dehydration. Even without disease, some sugars (like lactose in intolerant individuals) aren't fully absorbed and ferment in the colon.
Treatment for malabsorption syndrome may include a special diet, medicine to replace intestinal enzymes or reduce spasms, and vitamin or mineral supplements, such as B12 and iron.
Fats that aren't absorbed in your small intestine pass to your colon, causing fatty stools (steatorrhea). Fatty stools are greasy and runny and particularly smelly. They may be light-colored and float. Fat malabsorption also leads to the malabsorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K).
Gastroparesis is caused when your vagus nerve is damaged or stops working. The vagus nerve controls how food moves through your digestive tract. When this nerve doesn't work well, food moves too slowly or stops moving.
The treatment for small bowel conditions will be different based on what's causing them. However, part of treatment might include lifestyle changes such as nutrition and diet, stress reduction, or working with a mental health professional. The treatment for celiac disease is avoiding gluten.
Causes
Stay Hydrated
Drinking water before and during meals increases the ease with which food moves through the digestive tract. It also assists with the breakdown of partly digested food in the small intestine. Water carries nutrients across the intestinal barrier during nutrient absorption.
Foods to Avoid for Bile Acid Malabsorption
Symptoms
Pancreatic enzyme replacement is indicated for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. Bile acid malabsorption is typically managed with a low-fat and low-fiber diet, and bile salt binders such as cholestyramine, colestipol, and colesevelam are commonly employed.
Malabsorption Tests
Digestion slows down or becomes irregular, and the intestines may become more sensitive to pain signals. In addition, stress can alter the balance of beneficial bacteria in the gut microbiome. This imbalance may lead to further digestive discomfort, reduced nutrient absorption, and weakened immune defenses.
Brown: Normal and healthy, comes from bile. Green: Often caused by leafy greens, iron supplements, or rapid transit through the intestines. Yellow or greasy: May suggest malabsorption, especially if stools are foul-smelling or float. Black: Can result from iron supplements, bismuth medications, or upper GI bleeding.
Gluten is a protein found in foods containing wheat, barley or rye. If you have celiac disease, eating gluten triggers an immune response to the gluten protein in your small intestine. Over time, this reaction can damage your small intestine's lining and prevent it from absorbing nutrients.
A colonoscopy examines your entire colon, sometimes including the very end of the small intestine.
Nutritional support
Caloric and protein replacement is essential. It is crucial to supplement the patient with various minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and vitamins, which may be deficient in malabsorption.
The hardest foods to digest are typically fried and fatty foods, processed foods, and items high in certain fibers or sugars, like cruciferous vegetables, legumes, onions, garlic, and dairy (for the lactose intolerant), as well as red meat, due to their fat content, complex fibers (like cellulose in corn), or FODMAPs, slowing stomach emptying and potentially causing gas, bloating, or cramps.
Upper endoscopy with small bowel mucosal biopsy
Establishing a definitive diagnosis of malabsorption of the mucosal phase often can be achieved by histologic examination of biopsied mucosal specimens obtained during routine upper endoscopy.
The main causes of vitamin B12 malabsorption include intrinsic factor deficiency, pernicious anemia, pancreatic insufficiency, bariatric surgery, and gastrectomy 12.
Take Vitamin B-6
Its primary purposes are to help enzymes break down protein and carry the dismantled amino acids to the blood stream.
A: Some of the best drinks to have after a meal include warm water with lemon, herbal teas (peppermint, chamomile, ginger), fennel tea, buttermilk, green tea, apple cider vinegar drink, coconut water, kombucha, carom seed water, and aloe vera juice.
Your small intestine does most of the digesting of the foods you eat. If you have a malabsorption syndrome, your small intestine cannot absorb nutrients from foods. Causes of malabsorption syndromes include: Celiac disease.
By reducing gas-producing bacterial species, probiotics could alleviate symptoms associated with carbohydrate malabsorption. Furthermore, probiotics may enhance micronutrient absorption, increasing the bioavailability of essential vitamins and minerals at the intestinal level13,14.
The drugs include neomycin, cholestyramine, antacids, laxatives, paraminosal- icylic acid, colchicine and oral hypoglycemic agents (biguanides). In general, these drugs cause substantial malabsorption in normal people only when they are given in doses larger than those customarily used in clinical practice.