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Overview of Malabsorption

By

The Manual's Editorial Staff

Reviewed/Revised Jul 2022 | Modified Sep 2022
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Food you eat has to be digested before it can go into your body. Digestion breaks food down into its separate parts:

  • Proteins

  • Fats

  • Carbohydrates

Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are nutrients because they provide nutrition. Other nutrients are:

  • Vitamins and minerals

After food is digested, nutrients go into your body through the walls of your intestines. This is called absorption.

Locating the Small Intestine

Locating the Small Intestine

What is malabsorption?

Malabsorption means you don't properly take in (absord) nutrients from food. A problem somewhere in your gastrointestinal (GI) tract keeps you from absorbing one or more kinds of nutrients.

What causes malabsorption?

Two main problems cause malabsorption:

  • Food isn't digested properly

  • Your intestines can't absorb nutrients

What causes digestion problems?

Why can't you absorb nutrients?

What are the symptoms of malabsorption?

The most common symptom of malabsorption is:

  • Chronic diarrhea

You'll have lots of loose, oily stools that smell worse than usual.

Other symptoms include:

  • Feeling gassy and bloated

  • Losing weight

  • For women, stopped periods

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can cause:

How do doctors diagnose malabsorption?

Doctors usually do:

  • Stool tests to look for unabsorbed fat

  • Blood tests

If these tests show malabsorption, doctors then do tests to look for the cause. They may:

How do doctors treat malabsorption?

Treatment depends on the cause. Some malabsorption diseases have specific treatments. For example, tropical sprue and Whipple disease are treated with antibiotics.

In general, if you have trouble with only certain foods, doctors will have you avoid them. If you are missing certain digestive enzymes, sometimes you can take enzyme supplements. If you have a vitamin deficiency, you'll take extra vitamins.

NOTE: This is the Consumer Version. DOCTORS: VIEW PROFESSIONAL VERSION
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