By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben
SUMMARY
- Fat Malabsorption will accelerate the aging process.
- Disturbances after eating fatty meals or a history of gall bladder problems, liver or colon disease can be indicative of fat malabsorption.
- Everyone can benefit by improving fat absorption.
- Helpful supplements include lipase, pancreatin, bile salts, lecithin and choline.
- These can be especially important for nerve and brain health.
One of the most underappreciated causes of aging and degenerative disease is Fat Malabsorption Syndrome. If you are dealing with any chronic breakdown disease where the body is progressively degrading and not healing and/or you are suffering from digestive distress after eating fatty foods, consider yourself a candidate for this ominous and often undiagnosed condition. This is especially true if you are sans gall bladder or have a history of liver, pancreatic or colon disease. And even if you have no obvious symptoms or disease, paying attention to fat absorption is a key part of any anti-aging protocol.
It wouldn’t hurt any of us to be using fat absorption supplements, starting off with digestive enzymes, specifically lipase, which is a generic term for a class of enzymes that dissolves fat. It’s found in pancreatin (available as a supplement) which is a group of enzymes that is made by the pancreas. These fat absorbing enzymes can improve overall health not only digestion. While they’re obviously important for the digestion of fats, they are also play in important part in the biochemistry of cell membranes and inflammation. Folks with arthritis may get tremendous benefits from pancreatin enzyme supplements as well as ordinary digestive enzymes. They can help thin the blood too.
Bile salts can help improve fat absorption. You’ll find these in most quality digestive enzyme supplements, or you can purchase them on their own.
And don’t forget about lecithin which a powerful nutritional supplement that is critical for the health of the brain and nervous system in addition to being important for the liver and fat absorption. Bile, the body’s superstar fat dissolving liquid, is largely composed of lecithin, the same stuff you can buy in a health food store. Most lecithin is derived from soy, a major GMO crop, but you can use rice or sunflower lecithin which are available via the internet (Organic Rice Lecithin, and Sunflower Lecithin). Food sources of lecithin include sprouts, peanuts, cauliflower, cabbage and eggs (the word “lecithin” comes from the Greek term for egg yolk). Lecithin is available as a powder or as a liquid. The liquid, is syrupy and thick and has a stronger taste while the powder is more concentrated and purified although a bit more expensive. Both go great in smoothies where lecithin’s emulsification properties will make your smoothie more “smooth”. Adding a raw egg to your smoothie is great way to get lecithin. You can also get lecithin capsules made are with the syrup. Lecithin really ups the nutritional value of all fats and fatty vitamins and will improve your body’s ability to assimilate these key building nutrients.
If you are trying to improve fat absorption you’d be wise to make sure your getting enough choline too. Eggs are a really good source of choline. Choline is a really fascinating nutrient. Its super important for the liver, can help diabetics process sugar and it’s is involved in the construction of important cell structures. Choline helps turn fats into something called phospholipids which make up cell membranes, the ultra-thin covering of cells. Cell membranes function as little computer chips. They are the brain of a cell and their information processing properties are dependent on phospholipids. Using choline to improve phospholipid production may provide support for anyone dealing with nerve and brain health issues including ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. They can be helpful for memory and learning too; almost all brain formulas on the market include phospholipids (lecithin is largely composed of phospholipids). As with lecithin, choline supplementation can positively impact fat absorption.
