One of the more common symptoms of IBS is the decreased ability to digest fats.
People with IBS seem to fall into two camps. The first group have trouble processing fats but don’t know it and eat it anyway. The best test to determine if you have issues with fat malabsorption is the GI Map.
The other group have such an extreme reaction to eating fat (pain, cramping, gas or diarrhea) that they avoid it completely.
The difference between these two groups is the severity of malabsortion. This mainly has to do with the state of the liver and its ability to produce bile.
For both groups this is an issue worth addressing. Avoiding fats or greatly reducing them is only a good temporary solution, not a viable long term option.
We need fat for hormonal balance and brain health. You also need fat to absorb fat-soluble vitamins and help stabilize blood sugar. When both fats and carbohydrates become problematic, this leads to constant food reactions, weight loss, lethargy and malnutrition.
You can improve your ability to break down fat. The goal is to find the root cause of fat malabsorption and fix it.
If fat malabsorption stems from a sluggish liver, there are likely more symptoms and health implications associated with it. If the liver is struggling it can cause painful periods/bad PMS, imbalanced hormones, low immunity, nausea, indigestion, bloating and gas, headaches, constipation or diarrhea, sleep disturbance, itchy skin or acne, seasonal allergies, failing eye sight, fatigue, anger, mood swings, loss of appetite and swelling, plus many more symptoms.
The liver is one of the most important organs for digestion and detoxification, functions that are typically compromised in folks with IBS.
The liver help digest fats by producing bile. When the liver is sluggish, bile flow becomes thick and sluggish and the digestion of fats, proteins and starches are compromised.
Undigested food particles in the gut can become food for bacteria (starches), putrefy (protein) or become rancid (fats), adding to the toxic load of the body. If constipation is also an issue, that toxicity builds up and leads to symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, head aches, joint/muscle pain, sinus congestion and mucus production.
Working on liver health can greatly improve digestion. I personally, spent a year supporting and healing my liver and it gratly improved everything in my body, including weight, mood and immunity.
Here are some solutions for improving fat digestion and supporting liver function and health.
Ox bile, bitters, lecithin
Some immediate solutions to compensate for poor quality bile is adding a bile supplement.
Oxbile is most commonly used. I like this brand of oxbile because of the low milligram dosage per pill to prevent overdoing it.
Bitters are another way to encourage the liver to produce more bile. The bitter taste is extremely stimulating to the liver and encourages bile production.
Lecithin, a fatty acid made from sunflower seeds, also regulates liver function. The liver makes lecithin from food and also dissolves it through the cardiovascular system to support cell structures and defend against oxidation. Lecithin helps prevent liver associated diseases such as cirrhosis.
Liver Supporting foods and beverages
Bitter tasting foods and beverages are very supportive to liver function.
One examples is lemon.
Warm lemon water in the morning (half a lemon squeezed into filtered, tepid water) is popular for cleansing the body by supporting the liver.
Lemon peel is equally as supportive as lemon juice and easier on tooth enamel. Some choose the convenience of essential oils over lemon juice, but make sure you choose a brand that’s safe for consumption. One drop of lemon oil (derived from the peel) in a glass of water is all you need. I like this brand of lemon essential oil because it’s pure and safe for internal use.
A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar can have the same cleansing and stimulating effect.
Beets
Beets are amazing for the liver, but be careful because they’re higher in FODMAPs and this could irritate folks with SIBO. For those who can tolerate beets, add them to smoothies, roast them or make them into noodles and saute them in coconut oil for better liver function.
Dandelion greens or tea
Dandelion is a bitter green that is eaten fresh or made into tea. It is not low FODMAP so same warning applies. Dandelion tea is an amazing liver support and cleanser and this is my favorite brand because of its mild and delicious taste.
Chlorella
Chlorella is a blue green algae that’s also a nutrient-dense super food and highly beneficial for the liver. I took this brand of chlorella every day when I was healing my gut a decade ago.
Bitter greens
Any bitter green food is going to be amazing for your liver. However, raw veggies can be irritating to some IBS folks because they’re very hard to digest/break down.
Blending or cooking the greens before consumption will break down and “predigest” those raw veggie fibers and make them easier to tolerate.
Liver supporting practices
Detoxification support is an important part of liver care. Your liver is your main detox organ and gets sluggish from being overwhelmed by too many toxins to process. Detox practices can help your body eliminate this “traffic jam” of toxins and escort them quickly out of your body.
Castor oil packs
This helps draw out liver toxins by applying a warm compress of castor oil to the skin above the liver. The compress is applied for 45 minutes under a heating pad or hot water bottle, allowing the oil to sink into the skin. Google “castor oil packs” for details on how to do this at home. It is a cheap and easily available home detox option and also extremely effective.
Coffee enema
Just like it sounds, this enema is done with organic, room temperature coffee. The coffee is held in the colon for 15 to 20 minutes while the bitterness of the coffee stimulates liver and colon detox. This is one of the most powerful liver detox modalities and helps tremendously with liver-related digestive symptoms and constipation.
Sauna
Sweating is one of the best ways to escort toxins from the body. Both dry Swedish saunas and far infared saunas work well in detoxing the liver. This is a great way to ease uncomfortable detox and die off symptoms from an antimicrobial protocol. Hot, epsom salt baths are also a great option for detox and making you sweat.
Acupuncture and chi gong
These two modalities work differently from the ones above because they address the body’s energy system.
By stimulating blocked energy flow, blood and lymphatic fluids are also stimulated. This extremely cleansing and helps release contractions caused by stress and tension.
Stagnating body fluids (lymph, blood and bile) like stagnant water, are a welcoming breed ground for bacteria and other pathogens.
According to Chinese medicine, the health of the body depends on the health and flow of the fluids that move through it. Both acupuncture and chi gong promote body fluid flow, detoxification, relaxation and the reduction of tension and contractions.
They also both help open up the flow of breath(ing) through the body.
Chi gong uses slow, meditative movement and visualization to move fluids and energy through the body and break through blockage (caused by tension and contraction). Acupuncture does the same, using needles to stimulate points along the body’s energy system.
Stop the busy
Rest is often the missing piece in liver support.
The liver is irritated by constant, non-stop activity and needs more down time than your overactive brain.
Down time means disengaging your nervous system. Watching TV or surfing the web is very engaging to the nervous system and doesn’t count as rest.
Ways to disengage your system include laying down (and doing nothing), staring out the window, taking a bath or a going for a stroll. Yoga nidra is one of my favorite ways to rest and disengage.
If you stop eating at least 3 to 4 hours before bed time it will allow your liver to detox overnight.
The liver detoxes between 1 and 3 am, during sleep. If it is busy digesting, the liver will forgo the self-cleaning process.
Related issues
Another issue related to poor digestion is low stomach acid.
Supporting stomach acid with bitters, lemon water or fresh ginger can strengthen digestive fire as you also strengthen bile flow. The combination of strong stomach acid and good bile flow can transform weak digestion and the digestive issues it can cause.
Angela Privin is proof that IBS is NOT an incurable disease, but a cry for help from a gut out of balance. When the body AND mind are complaining, it’s an opportunity to examine what’s not working and change it. After solving her own IBS mystery almost two decades ago, Angela became as a health coach to help others. Angela uses root cause medicine protocols personalized to the individual to solve each IBS mystery. Her tools are lab testing, dietary changes, supplementation, subconscious mind work and nervous system rebalancing . Learn more here.