IV therapy from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre may be suitable for patients with malabsorption. But what exactly does “malabsorption” mean?

This is a term that describes a wide range of health issues that influence how your body, mainly the small intestine, takes in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. (Note: the majority of nutrient absorption occurs in the small intestine, though some absorption also occurs in the large intestine and stomach.) You could struggle with either absorbing a few nutrients or all of them, but what you can’t absorb leaves the body undigested through stool. 

If this issue is ignored, it could instigate other health concerns, such as nutrient deficiencies, which are known to hinder cognitive function, wound healing, and physical performance. Your muscle function and immune health may suffer over time if you can’t absorb fats, proteins or carbohydrates properly. And if you’re not absorbing essential vitamins and minerals, the health of your vision, skin, bones and hair can deteriorate. 

If your chief health concerns include chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, or unexplained weight loss, we recommend a visit to your functional medicine healthcare provider; those symptoms may be linked to malabsorption. This article describes how malabsorption affects the digestive process, how vitamin drip therapy works for this condition, and information about our IV Lounge.

What Malabsorption Does to the Body

To understand how malabsorption affects the human body, the digestive process must be understood. We summarize this in three steps:

• Step 1: Food is compartmentalized into digestible portions

• Step 2: Nutrients from food are absorbed into the body.
• Step 3: Once absorption is complete, whatever digested food is left leaves the body through stool. 

Malabsorption takes place in Step 2. This means that the nutrients you can’t absorb will exit through your stool as undigested particles. As a result, some patients with malabsorption experience diarrhea, which can further exacerbate malabsorption and hinder proper hydration. This is because, with diarrhea, food moves excessively quick to the point that your bowels don’t have time to absorb nutrients. 

Before we move onto using vitamin IV therapy for malabsorption, note the facts below: 

1. Some risk factors behind this condition include: family histories related to malabsorption or cystic fibrosis; excessively drinking alcohol; surgical procedures related to the intestines; frequent use of laxatives; infections from traveling abroad.
2. Lab testing can help health practitioners identify malabsorption indicators. Our health care/IV therapy providers may recommend a gut health assessment called GI 360. With this test, stool sample is scrutinized to determine if bacteria, viruses or parasites are triggering intestinal discomforts. It also covers DNA analysis, which can detect 45+ chemicals that may contribute to dysbiosis or the formation of chronic conditions.
   
   Another lab test to consider is the Metabolomix+, which amalgamates nutrition tests to scrutinize for dietary biomarkers. This non-invasive test can assist a healthcare provider in determining if your digestive health requires major antioxidants, trace minerals, B vitamins, fatty acids, and amino acids. It’s non-invasive, and consists of a morning urine sample; you may have the option to include buccal swabs or blood spot samples, too. An additional personalized nutritional assessment may also be advised, which is a urine test that can measure for nutrient deficiencies. 
3. Malabsorption may be temporary due to an illness, such as the flu. But when it lasts for a while due to underlying concerns (i.e. celiac disease, IBS/IBD, Crohn’s, colitis, etc.) you may require supplemental nutrition that doesn’t involve the digestive tract, while working on stabilizing gut health. IV therapy, also known as intravenous therapy, is an example. 

How IV Therapy Drips Can Improve Your Absorption of Nutrients 

So, how can you help maintain optimal health with malabsorption?  Oral supplementation tends to be the go-to for improving nutrient levels; but patients with malabsorption may not get beneficial effects with this, as their bodies may not be able to process pills or tablets. This is because the oral route needs the digestive process, which is already hindered from malabsorption. When people with this health issue swallow supplements, they may experience unwanted side effects as a result, such as nausea and diarrhea. 

Thus, vitamin drip treatments may be taken to improve or maintain your current health status.  When administered with regular exercise, a dietary intake of healthy food, and other functional medicine therapies, IV drips could contribute to health improvements. 

Here’s how it works: An IV tube is directly inserted into your vein and allows for a custom nutritional formula to enter your bloodstream. Digestion is not required for this treatment, which can decrease your chances of experiencing digestive discomforts. 

Next to recuperating and maintaining nutrition levels, there are other benefits to getting an IV vitamin drip: 

• Offers a rehydration of fluids, which can help hydrate your body for post-exercise recovery or promote recovery from illness. 
• Promotes red blood cell production
• May be used to upgrade cellular functions and energy production.

In our private downtown clinic, we can customize your intravenous drip with an array of natural ingredients, including vitamin C, major minerals, a medley of amino acids with glutamic acid, major antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin E, glutathione IV drips, and other safe ingredients. We also offer the Myer’s Cocktail, which is a unique formulation of intravenous magnesium, ascorbic acid, key vitamins, minerals, and more. Please reach us to schedule a consultation.

Visit Our IV Lounge in Toronto

Did you know that you can obtain a personalized service of health care? This is what we offer in our IV Lounge, which is located in the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre.

Our intravenous therapy drips are uniquely compounded for individual needs with no added preservatives. IV treatments may be tailored for various health concerns, including immune function, athletic performance, muscle recovery, brain fog, hair and skin health, lack of energy (chronic fatigue), fatty liver disease, mineral deficiencies, DNA repair, cellular functioning of nerves, and other issues. Because safety is one of the key components of our practice, each intravenous infusion session is supervised by a medical doctor, naturopathic doctor, nurse practitioner or registered nurse. 

We take pride in our integrated health care, and we invite you to tackle your symptoms with multiple treatment modalities. This helps you uncover health strategies that may suit your biological needs, while helping to manage or prevent a chronic illness. A custom treatment plan from us may include conventional/Western medicine, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, hormone optimization programs, IV nutrient therapy as adjunct support, and other therapies. 

Note: We have compassion for your unique biology and health needs. This is why all of our treatments, including IV vitamin therapy, are customized with the integrative functional medicine model. 

Sometimes we need help reaching your peak performance – and that’s okay! Let’s improve your nutritional absorption rate to boost energy levels, mental clarity, and more. Request your initial consultation with our IV therapy Toronto Lounge by clicking here. 

Disclaimer: The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. Consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on this website.

 

References

“Malabsorption” from the Cleveland Clinic, reviewed April 6, 2022, viewed on August 2, 2023. 

“Malabsorption Syndrome” from Healthline, medically reviewed by Saurabh Sethi, M.D., MPH, by Michael Kerr, updated on April 20, 2023, viewed on August 2, 2023. 

Ramakrishna BS, Venkataraman S, Mukhopadhya A. Tropical malabsorption. Postgrad Med J. 2006 Dec;82(974):779-87. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.2006.048579. PMID: 17148698; PMCID: PMC2653921.

Satsangi, Jack, Alastair Forbes, and Victoria Mulcahy (ed.), ‘Differential diagnosis and investigation of malabsorption’, in John Firth, Christopher Conlon, and Timothy Cox (eds), Oxford Textbook of Medicine, 6 edn (Oxford, 2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 1 Jan. 2020), https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780198746690.003.0298, accessed 2 Aug. 2023

Zuvarox T, Belletieri C. Malabsorption Syndromes. [Updated 2022 Jul 25]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553106/