Fat And Floaters

[hoot]

Is there a difference between undigested fat and unabsorbed fat, and how it affects the stool? By undigested I mean fat that hasn't been split by lipase enzymes and is still "whole" (which would indicate enzyme deficiency), and by unabsorbed fat I mean fat that has been split, but not absorbed by the small intestine (which would indicate villous atrophy or lack of bile salts).

For the past year or so I've been having a lot of floating stool, more so when eating gluten. But most often it hasn't been sticky (sometimes a little bit but not too bad) or smelly, and I haven't seen blobs of "whole" fat floating in the toilet bowl. But I have seen something in the water that could be unabsorbed fat.

Do you guys have any information on this?

[nora-n]

The short answer is that floating stools are typical for celiac but I do not know how many other reasons there might be for floating stools.

In celiac, absorption of fatty acids is diminished because of gut damage.

Celiacs have low vitamin D and fat-soluble vitmains for that reason.

[majortom-thecat]

The short answer is that floating stools are typical for celiac but I do not know how many other reasons there might be for floating stools.

In celiac, absorption of fatty acids is diminished because of gut damage.

Celiacs have low vitamin D and fat-soluble vitmains for that reason.

Interesting. I had always thought floating stool was the norm. Mine is darker and heavier when I'm not eating gluten though. I wonder if this could be a way to tell if you might have accidentally eaten gluten.