How to Treat Malabsorption

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Malabsorption can leave you malnourished and fatigued because your body isn't taking in adequate vitamins and nutrients from the food you eat. Malabsorption is usually due to a problem in the intestinal tract, although underlying causes can include cystic fibrosis, lactose intolerance, and chronic pancreatitis. [1] Once your doctor determines the underlying cause, you’ll be able to develop a customized treatment plan. Generally, treatment involves eating a high calorie diet, taking supplements, avoiding problem foods, and potentially supportive therapy. Additionally, your doctor may prescribe a medication to treat the underlying cause of your malabsorption.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Improving Your Diet

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  1. You'll likely need to eat more food to meet your nutritional needs because your body isn't absorbing everything you eat. Talk to your doctor or dietitian to set a daily calorie goal. Then, eat enough food that consist of high fat and protein to give you the calories you need.
    • If you're at a healthy weight or overweight, your doctor may give you a moderately higher calorie goal. However, you may need to go on a very high calorie diet if you're consistently losing weight or are already underweight.
    • Your calorie goals may change over your course of treatment.

    Did You Know? When you have malabsorption, you might lose weight even though you're eating a lot of food. That's because your body can't absorb the nutrients from the food and instead produces more waste, such as diarrhea.

  2. Your body can get more nutrients overall if you eat smaller meals. Schedule 6 or more small meals every 2-3 hours throughout the day. At your meals, consume about half of what you'd normally eat at a regular meal. [2]
    • This helps your body absorb more nutrients because it has more opportunities to get nutrients.
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  3. Your diet needs to supply enough protein, fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins to nourish your body. Specifically, you need enough folic acid, B12, and iron to stay healthy. A dietitian can design a diet that meets your unique needs and fits your food preferences. Ask your doctor to refer you to a dietitian or search for one online. [3]
    • Your appointments with the dietitian may be covered by your insurance, so check your benefits.
  4. You may not be able to eat enough food to nourish your body if you're having a digestive flare-up. For instance, inflammatory bowel disease (IBS) may limit how much you can eat. When this happens, drink a liquid nutritional supplement to help you avoid malnutrition. [4]
    • Ask your doctor to recommend a liquid supplement that might work for you.
    • For instance, you might drink Peptamen or Pedialyte, which you can typically buy at a local drugstore. Alternatively, your doctor may prescribe a supplement for you.
  5. Some conditions that cause malabsorption also cause inflammation, which may worsen your symptoms. Consuming more omega-3 fatty acids may naturally reduce your inflammation so you can eat more and absorb more nutrients. Talk to your doctor to make sure it's safe for you to eat more omega-3s. [5]
    • Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids include fish, vegetable oils, nuts, leafy greens, and flax seeds. If you don't like eating these foods, ask your doctor if it's okay for you to take a supplement. [6]
  6. You may be able to absorb more nutrients by taking a multivitamin and mineral supplements. Ask your doctor to recommend a supplement for you and advise you on the correct amount to take to meet your unique needs. Then, take your vitamin or supplement exactly as directed. [7]
    • Vitamins and supplements may boost your nutritional levels but this doesn't always work. Your body may not absorb the nutrients from the supplements, especially if you have trouble digesting fat.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Avoiding Problem Foods

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  1. You likely have food triggers that make your condition worse. To find your triggers, write down everything you eat and how it makes you feel. This will help you figure out what you need to eliminate from your diet. [8]
    • Show your food diary to your doctor or dietitian so they can use the information to help you create a good treatment plan for you.
  2. After you identify your food triggers, do your best to eliminate the foods that bother you. This might help reduce digestive problems that make it harder for you to eat enough food to balance out your malabsorption. Common triggers include dairy, gluten, soy, wheat, sugary foods, and high-fat foods. [9]
    • Depending on the cause of your malabsorption, avoiding trigger foods might also help prevent further damage. For example, celiac disease can damage your intestines if you don't eliminate gluten from your diet. This means avoiding your food triggers can actually help you absorb more nutrients than you would otherwise.
  3. If you have IBS or a related condition, don't consume foods or drinks that can worsen your diarrhea during a flare-up. Typically, this includes fresh fruits and veggies, prunes, caffeine, and sugary foods. Temporarily avoid these foods until the flare-up is over. [10]
    • Ask your doctor how long you should change your diet. Fruits and veggies are nutritious and important for a healthy diet, so you want to resume eating them as soon as possible.

    Tip: When you're not having a flare-up, eat a varied diet that includes an array of fresh fruits and veggies.

  4. When you have celiac disease, gluten causes inflammation in your digestive tract that prevents you from absorbing nutrients. You need to avoid gluten to prevent further inflammation and help your body absorb more nutrients. If your doctor diagnoses you with celiac disease, cut gluten out of your diet. [11]
    • Gluten is a wheat protein that's common in bread, cereal, pasta, baked goods, spices, sauces, and processed foods. Check the labels on the foods you eat to make sure they're gluten free.
    • If you keep eating gluten, the inflammation may damage your intestines.
  5. Lactose is a milk sugar that's present in dairy products, and it's possible that you can't fully digest it. This may cause diarrhea that prevents your body from absorbing nutrients properly, which results in malabsorption. If your doctor diagnoses lactose intolerance, stop consuming dairy products or choose lactose-free options. [12]
    • Check the label on your dairy products to make sure they say “lactose-free.” You might also switch to soy products if they don't bother your stomach.
    • Fortunately, lactose intolerance doesn't cause permanent damage. Once you stop eating dairy, you'll be able to avoid digestive upset and better absorb nutrients.
  6. If your body doesn't digest fat properly, you'll notice foul-smelling, light-colored stool that sticks to the toilet. This means your body is passing the fat through your system without fully digesting it, which makes you lose nutrients. Switch to a low-fat diet so that your body doesn't pass the food through your digestive system as quickly. This may help you absorb more nutrients. [13]
    • Talk to your doctor to find out if your body isn't digesting fat properly. They may do a stool sample to make sure.
    • Ask your doctor how much fat you need to eat daily to meet your nutritional needs. Don't cut fat out of your diet completely.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Getting Medical Treatment

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  1. Malabsorption is caused by an underlying condition, so you'll need to treat the cause and manage your symptoms. Get a proper diagnosis from your doctor so you get the right course of treatment. Then, talk to your doctor about the treatments available and decide what's best for you. [14]
    • Typically, malabsorption is treated with a combination of dietary changes and medical treatments. This may include medication or nutritional support.
  2. You may develop malabsorption while your body is fighting an infection. This is especially common in children. Go to the doctor if you suspect your or your child has an infection. Your doctor will make a diagnosis and prescribe an antibiotic if treatment is necessary. Administer the medication as directed. [15]
    • Antibiotics are only used to treat bacterial infections.
  3. If food is passing through your system too quickly, your doctor might prescribe a medication that will slow down your intestines. These medications keep food in your intestines longer so your body has more time to absorb nutrients. Talk to your doctor about these medications if you have a condition like IBS or short bowel syndrome. [16]
    • Take your medication exactly as directed.
  4. Using liquid supplements and taking vitamins may help you boost your nutrition, but this might not work for you. If you're very deficient in vitamins, your doctor can give you an injection to quickly boost your vitamin and mineral levels. Discuss this treatment option with your doctor if oral vitamins and supplements aren't helping. [17]
    • These injections will temporarily boost your nutrient levels. You may need to get them often to prevent malnutrition.
  5. Some underlying conditions can damage your pancreas, which makes it hard to absorb certain nutrients. If this is the case for you, your doctor may prescribe pancreatic enzymes that will help your body increase nutrient absorption. Ask your doctor if you need pancreatic enzymes, then take them as directed. [18]
    • For instance, cystic fibrosis might damage your pancreas.
  6. Steroids like Prednisone reduce inflammation in your body, so they can treat or prevent an IBS flare-up. Talk to your doctor to find out if steroids are a treatment option for you. Then, take your medication as directed. [19]
    • Your doctor may want to try other treatments before they give you steroids.
    • Steroids can cause side effects, including malabsorption of some nutrients, bone loss, and poor protein absorption.
  7. Your doctor can administer a nutritional formula directly into your blood to help you get the nutrients you need. The formula supplies fluids, vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes. This treatment is called total parenteral nutrition. Talk to your doctor to find out if it's the right treatment for you. [20]
    • Typically, your doctor will give you these treatments if you're not able to absorb enough nutrients after trying other treatments.
  8. Your doctor can insert a feeding tube into your stomach to administer a nutritional formula directly into your stomach. This treatment is called enteral nutrition because you get all of your nutrients from the formula. Ask your doctor if this might be the best treatment for you if other treatments don't help. [21]
    • You might still be able to eat while you have a feeding tube. Ask your doctor if it's safe for you to eat or not.
    • You might experience discomfort while the feeding tube is inserted or changed, but it's typically not painful to have a feeding tube.
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      Tips

      • Common conditions that can cause malabsorption include inflammatory bowel disease (IBS), Crohn's disease, celiac disease, short bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, whipple disease, parasite infection, cystic fibrosis, HIV, AIDS, and chronic liver disease. Additionally, some surgical procedures and medications may cause malabsorption. [22]
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      Warnings

      • Work with your doctor to treat your malabsorption. Don't try to treat it on your own because some conditions that cause malabsorption can continue to worsen without medical treatment. [23]
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/malabsorption
      2. ↑ https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/short-bowel-syndrome
      3. ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000299.htm
      4. ↑ https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/nutrition_tips_for_inflammatory_bowel_disease/
      5. ↑ https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/nutrition_tips_for_inflammatory_bowel_disease/
      6. ↑ https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/types-of-fat/omega-3-fats/
      7. ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000299.htm
      8. ↑ https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/nutrition_tips_for_inflammatory_bowel_disease/
      9. ↑ https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/malabsorption
      1. ↑ https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/nutrition_tips_for_inflammatory_bowel_disease/
      2. ↑ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coeliac-disease/complications/
      3. ↑ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lactose-intolerance/treatment/
      4. ↑ https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/nutrition_tips_for_inflammatory_bowel_disease/
      5. ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000299.htm
      6. ↑ https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/abdominal/Pages/Malabsorption.aspx
      7. ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000299.htm
      8. ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000299.htm
      9. ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000299.htm
      10. ↑ https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/nutrition_tips_for_inflammatory_bowel_disease/
      11. ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000299.htm
      12. ↑ https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/short-bowel-syndrome
      13. ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000299.htm
      14. ↑ https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/nutrition_tips_for_inflammatory_bowel_disease/

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