Something I'm hoarse about today on this topic, so let's also put it in writing.
People sometimes lack digestive enzymes. If food is poorly digested, then it usually flies out with diarrhea. More often this happens due to undigested fat.
Fat is digested by the enzyme lipase, which is largely produced by the pancreas. If a person's pancreas collapses for some reason, then he will have little lipase, and the fat will not be digested. Diarrhea will begin. It's clear.
Not everyone understands why constipation is caused by a lack of lipase. But this is more likely in children with cystic fibrosis.
Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disorder in which the glands do not work properly. Including the pancreas. In its ducts, plugs of thick mucus are obtained, which do not allow digestive enzymes to be secreted. Including lipase. The pancreas cannot function normally, and the part of it that is responsible for digestive enzymes gradually heals.
In newborns, by the way, half of the fat is broken down by lingual lipase. That is, the child has just begun to suck, and the fat is already being digested.
So in children with cystic fibrosis, the pancreas can secrete very few enzymes. Fat in the intestines is not absorbed by them, but it often does not cause diarrhea, but constipation. Or even intestinal obstruction.
The fact is that in patients with cystic fibrosis, there is a lot of very thick and sticky mucus in the intestines. This mucus, when mixed with undigested fat, creates a viscous plug that can completely block the intestinal lumen. A very unpleasant thing.
The acid in the stomach also has a negative effect on the digestion of fat. Pancreatic enzymes must work in an alkaline environment. At the very beginning of our intestines, ordinary soda is in store for this.
Well, if the stomach makes too much acid, then no internal bicarbonates are enough to completely neutralize this acid. Fat will be less digestible. In short, everything is complicated there. There are different kinds of miracles.
