Malabsorption
Malabsorption means a reduction in the absorption of one of the major constituents of our diet. This could be, for example, milk in the case of milk protein sensitivity, fats in the case of pancreatic disease, fats and proteins in the case of coeliac disease, or vitamin B12 in the case of Crohn’s disease of the terminal ileum. We absorb water from both small and large intestine up to the level determined by the contents of the bowel - the so-called osmotic gradient. If the small bowel is full of unabsorbed foodstuffs such as fats, more water is held in and this passes into the large intestine and causes diarrhoea - defined as the passage of motion increased in either fluidity or frequency.
|
