what is malabsorption?
on 6/30/12 4:01 am
Malabsorption is a state arising from abnormality in absorption of food nutrients across the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
The main purpose of the gastrointestinal tract is to digest and absorb nutrients (fat, carbohydrate, protein, and fiber), micronutrients (vitamins and trace minerals), water, and electrolytes. Digestion involves both mechanical and enzyatic breakdown of food. Mechanical processes include chewing, gastric churning, and the to-and-fro mixing in the small intestine.
food is absorbed into our system in the small intestines. With a part of the intestine bypassed, the remaining small intestine is not good at absorbing alll of the nutrients that pass by because the small intestine is only supposed to absorb so much of the of the food per inch or centimeter of small intestine.
Over time the small intestine gets the message that there's an issue further up the line, and the body isn't absorbing all the macronutrients it is ingesting, so it grows more villi (finger like thingies) that absorb more of the fat, protein, and carbs to make up for the bypassed parts. Thus the malabsorption of calories goes away over time and while there is always going to be a certain amount of malabsorption of calories, the boost this gives to weight loss in the beginning is part of why WLS people are almost always somewhat successful in the beginning even if they are non-compliant with the rules.
Alas, there is another type of malabsorption that has nothing to do with calories but more to do with the vitamins we consume. There are parts of the digestive system where the body scoops iron, and B12, and other types of vitamins from the digestive tract. The parts of our system that absorb those and are bypassed remain bypassed and the remaining part of our digestive system doesn't have a mechanism for rerouting this absorption of micronutrients (vitamins) like the calories. So we will always malabsorb vitamins that were absorbed within the bypassed portion. This is why we MUST supplement with vitamins for life.
~Lady Lithia~ 200 lbs lost!
March 9, 2011 - Coccygectomy!
I chased my dreams, and my dreams, they caught me!
After RNY we malabsorb both macronutrients and micronutrients.
Macronutrients are carbs, fat, protein - stuff with calories. We malabsorb those for a couple years. That malabsorption gradually goes away as our small intestine adapts.
Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. We malabsorb those forever because some of the spots where they are absorbed have been bypass and there is no way for our small intestine to adapt to that.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
