Title: Pancreatic Exocrine Insufficiency

Key words: hypochlorhydria, steatorrhoea, pancreatic exocrine function, dysbiosis, leaky gut syndrome, food intolerance, investigations, treatment

Date: Oct 2000

Category: 8. The Gut

Type: Article

Author: Dr C Forsyth

Pancreatic Exocrine Insufficiency

Just as in hypochlorhydria, this is an extremely common and grossly overlooked condition in current mainstream medicine. Steatorrhoea does not appear until pancreatic exocrine function is below 5% of normal. In one practice, of the 270 patients tested in an eight-year period, 44% had pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, varying from 0-75% of normal, nine having less than 5%.

Some Consequences of Pancreatic Exocrine Insufficiency

· Nutrient deficiencies

· Dysbiosis

· Leaky gut syndrome

· Food intolerances

Investigations:

Gastrogram (non-invasive - uses a swallowed transducer capsule which measures pH and lipase activity) - Biolab

Treatment:

Identification and treatment of predisposing factors and secondary effects

Broad-spectrum plant enzymes