Fatty diarrhea is the condition where stool contains a greasy layer. In healthy individuals, the amount of fat in the stool when excreted is less than 7g per day; if the fat excreted is more than 7g/day, it is diagnosed as fatty stool.
1. Causes of fatty diarrhea
The main cause of fatty diarrhea is the body’s intolerance to gluten, a type of protein found in barley, wheat, and so on, called gluten.
Gluten is known as a protein that provides the characteristic elasticity of dough, making dough from these types of grains more pliable and viscous. Gluten is present in most types of bread, flour, pizza, cookies, pastries, and is abundant in soups, broths, and sauces.
When consuming gluten-containing foods, these proteins can trigger an inflammatory response in the intestines, leading to villous atrophy and reducing the surface area for absorbing essential nutrients from food, resulting in fatty diarrhea.
Other causes of fatty diarrhea are related to certain conditions such as: Type 1 diabetes and reduced thyroid function, dermatitis herpetiformis, etc.
2. Signs of fatty diarrhea
- Fatty diarrhea is easy to recognize by the following signs:
Passing loose stools that have an unpleasant foul smell and a layer of grease appearing in the toilet bowl.
- In young children, signs of gluten intolerance occur very early, as soon as they start to eat solid food. Children often show signs of bloating, diarrhea, fatigue, and nausea…
- Due to nutrient deficiencies, individuals with fatty diarrhea often lose weight, experience hair loss, have skin issues, and may be of short stature…
- It can lead to infertility or complications during pregnancy.
3. Is fatty diarrhea dangerous?
- Fatty diarrhea has certain effects on patients. Cases of prolonged fatty diarrhea that are not treated can predispose individuals to cancers such as small intestine cancer and esophageal carcinoma.
- Cases diagnosed late are very likely to lead to osteoporosis due to reduced calcium absorption. Additionally, patients are at a higher risk of malignant diseases, especially lymphoma, or complications of diffuse inflammation of the duodenum and ileum.
- Fatty diarrhea also increases the risk of infertility or pregnancy complications, but if gluten is removed from the diet, these complications will decrease and disappear.
4. How is fatty diarrhea treated?
Fatty diarrhea is a condition that can be completely treated simply and will not pose a danger to the patient if treated early and correctly. See a doctor as soon as you have initial signs of this condition, undergo blood tests and biopsies to accurately diagnose the condition.
From the causes of this disease, patients only need to remove gluten from their diet, and they will notice symptoms decrease or disappear after avoiding gluten-containing foods. However, it may take 2 to 6 years for the patient’s intestines to fully heal.
