A healthy digestive system breaks down food to obtain the nutrients your body needs to perform various tasks, such as providing energy for movement, building new cells for growth and facilitating the proper function of nerves. If your body doesn't get enough nutrients -- due to either malnutrition or malabsorption -- it can't meet its needs. In some cases, this means your body doesn't function as well as it could. In others, the lack of nutrition is deadly.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition means your body doesn't have the nutrients it needs to function properly. Malnutrition can be general, meaning the levels of many types of nutrients are low, or it can be specific, meaning your body needs more of a particular nutrient.
Effect
External causes of malnutrition relate to diet. Poor eating habits might mean your diet doesn't provide sufficient nutrients. For example, people who never eat fresh fruit can develop scurvy due to an insufficient intake of vitamin C. A complete lack of food causes starvation, which is an extreme form of malnutrition. For healthy people, switching to a balanced, healthy diet provides all the nutrients their bodies need.
Malabsorption
A balanced, healthy diet doesn't always guarantee proper levels of nutrients. People who have malabsorption can't absorb nutrients from food effectively. Usually, malabsorption means your body is having trouble absorbing specific fats, sugars, proteins or vitamins, but sometimes malabsorption is a general inability to digest or absorb nutrients, according to MedlinePlus.
Causes
Malabsorption is a symptom of an underlying condition or disease. For example, if you have a disease that affects your digestive system, food might pass through your intestines undigested. Many underlying health problems can cause malabsorption, including food intolerance, food allergy, certain types of cancer, complications from gastrointestinal surgeries and chronic liver disease, to name just a few. Bloating, cramping, gas, bulky stools, chronic diarrhea and fatty stools are signs your body might not be digesting food correctly.
Significance
Untreated malabsorption can lead to malnutrition. General effects include muscle wasting, weight loss and improper growth and development. Besides addressing underlying causes, treatments for malabsorption typically include increasing dietary intake of missing nutrients to compensate for your diminished capacity to absorb them. For example, if lactose intolerance makes it difficult for your body to absorb calcium, your doctor might suggest increasing the amount of nondairy calcium-rich foods in your diet or taking calcium supplements.
Member Comments