The effect of fat on calcium absorption from a mixed meal in normal subjects, patients with malabsorptive disease, and patients with a partial gastrectomy

Abstract

SUMMARY The absorption of 47Ca Cl2 taken with a milk and porridge meal was measured in normal subjects, patients with a partial gastrectomy, and patients with malabsorption. The addition of palm oil to the meal depressed calcium absorption, whereas the addition of medium-chain triglyceride had no effect. The contrasting effect of the two fats on calcium absorption was most marked in patients with a partial gastrectomy and least marked in patients with malabsorption. In patients with malabsorption, impairment of calcium absorption was most marked in the patients with a significant increase in faecal fat excretion. Absorption of calcium was greater in patients with a partial gastrectomy than in normal subjects.Very little information is available on the effect of fat on calcium absorption in man, although it has often been suggested that in steatorrhoea calcium malabsorption may be due in part to the precipitation of insoluble calcium soaps in the intestinal lumen (Steggerda and Mitchell, 1951). If this were the case, then substitution of medium-chain triglycerides for long-chain triglycerides in the diet might improve calcium absorption, especially as in both normal and bile-duct-obstructed rats medium-chain triglycerides stimulate calcium absorption (Kehayoglou, Williams, Whimster, and Holdsworth, 1968). We have therefore compared the effect of feeding medium-chain triglycerides with that of feeding long-chain triglycerides on the absorption of calcium in normal human subjects, in patient% with partial gastrectomy, and in patients with various types of malabsorption. Materials and MethodsAll subjects were fasted for eight hours before the test. No attempt was made to standardize their previous calcium intake, and their normal diet was continued between the tests. Of the 15 control subjects some suffered from a variety of medical conditions, none of which would be likely to affect absorption. The 17 gastrectomized subjects had 'Present address: Clinical Research Institute, The Royal Infirmary.Sheffield.

Effect of L-Lactic Acid on Calcium Absorption in Rats Fed Omeprazole.

“…Some studies have attributed the effects of partial gastrectomy and the use of antiulcer medications to calcium malabsorption, but other studies have failed to confirm this (4,14,15) . The results of studies of intestinal calcium absorption in achlorhydric patients and experimental animals are conflicting (16,17).…”

Effect of Dietary Calcium on Metabolic Balance of Normal Infants

“…Although absorption of calcium and fat were consistently lower in this subject than in the other five subjects, the absorption of other nutrients was not noticeably affected. Increased fecal excretion of fat (47)(48)(49) as well as impaired digestion of lactose (50, 5 1) have been shown to be associated with impaired absorption of calcium. However, if impaired absorption of fat or lactose had been the primary defect, one would have expected some recognizable clinical correlate and probably poor absorption of other nutrients.…”

Effect of Variations in Fat and Linoleic Acid Intake on the Calcium, Magnesium and Iron Balance of Young Men

“…Besides the results being often conflicting, the diets fed were far from being composed of regular mixed foods [5][6][7][8][9][10][11], The influence of amount and kind of dietary fat on the absorption of minerals other than calcium in man consum ing common food items has hardly been studied.…”