D and absorption of nutrients
#259384 - 04/21/06 05:34 AM
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Just got to thinking...
Does anyone know, when the D is really bad, how much of the nutritional value of food you are still actually absorbing? I was trying to reason it out last night....if IBS is mostly the large intestine (is that right?), I think most of the absorption of nutrients happens in the stomach and s. intestine, and the large intestine absorbs the water and vitamins and minerals. (All of that is based on vague rememberances from intro bio and such....my field is molecular bio, so if anyone has any questions about cellular metabolism of nutrients, I've got that for ya, but boy, I can't remember how long it's been since I've studied anything on the human/ organismal level). Does anyone actually know, especially in relation to IBS?
Anyway...I was just wondering. I was stable, and now I'm having a major major, seemingly unending, attack. And in the past, major attack meant in the morning, no matter what I ate when, the worst was always in the morning. Now it's constant D, all day long. I feel like food can't possibly actually be inside me more than half an hour, so I'm worried I'm not getting any nutrition out of it at all. Usually with D, they just say you need water and salts/ electrolytes....but can it ever be so severe you aren't absorbing any (or enough) carbs/ proteins/ etc, either? Sort of like when people try to lose weight with laxatives, I suppose?
Does anyone know if the D from IBS is different, or if that is an actual concern?
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IBS doesn't cause malnutrition or any other serious illness. You're right that most of the nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine and stomach. However, if someone goes on a strict exclusion diet - that isn't monitored by a doctor or nutritionist - you can become malnutritioned by not eating enough.
Diarrhea can cause you to get dehydrated and create an imbalance in electrolytes. So make sure to get plenty of liquids during an attacks. Also, you can restore electrolytes by eating rice w/ chicken or vegetable broth.
If you're still worried about malnutrition, you can have blood work done.
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I actually just finished the chapter on the digestive system in my A&P class, so I think I have an answer for you. No, you shouldn't have any nutritional deficiency problems.
Usually, water and electrolytes are the only things lost due to D. However, some B vitamins and vitamin K are absorbed in the colon, so if you are having lots of persistent D for long periods of time, maybe that could be a concern. Also, D can be caused by malabsorption in the small intestine (for example, celiac disease), so it might not be a bad idea to have your nutritional status evaluated anyway.
But usually, macronutrients are digested and asbsorbed by the time they reach the large intestine. Even though you are going all the time, unless food is coming out looking exactly like it did when it went in, I'm pretty sure that digestion & absorption has taken place. It is probably just the osmolality of your stool and increased motility that makes it seem like it is going right through you. But, then again, I am not a doctor. If you are concerned, you should talk to yours.
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Kim
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Thanks, that's what I thought too....
Sometimes you just have to be in awe of the human body, and how much works right, so much of the time....
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I've often wondered the same about medicine! I only take meds like Immodium AD advanced when I am in the throws of a really bad attack. Usually I won't have any more D that day after taking Immodium, but sometimes just anywhere from 5-20 minutes later I'll have another attack and worried that the Immodium I took just a little bit earlier doesn't have time to be absorbed.
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Erin
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IBS-D, GERD...
I got it comin' outta 1 end or the other!
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