Biochem:digestion and absorption

[Biocheman06]

How is absorption and digestion affected in gastroenteritis?

[Xalatan]

Yeah I often wondered about this myself. My guess is both digestion and absorption would be decreased in the event of gastroenteritis - gut fluid secretion and motility may both be increased by the gastroenteritic process, which may shorten the gut transit time (i.e. diarrhoea). Digestive enzymes and nutrient transporters may not function as effectively given the less transit time available. On the other hand, there may be enough residual capacity in the gut to fully digest the food in spite of the gastroenteritis. The answer may come down to the severity of the gastroenteritis and the virulence of pathogens involved in each case.

[Lyudmilascience]

this is a grate question. well things dosnt get digested as well if you get diarriha then the intestine work faster so they dont absorb as much nutrients or water. if you get diarrhea then your intestine work faster if you get constipation they work slower. it effects the bacteria inside usually many more die thats why we have appendixes, they store good bacteria. it may also depend on how long ago the person ate and which step of digestionth food is on.