{"id":59917,"date":"2015-07-28T14:26:22","date_gmt":"2015-07-28T12:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/digestion\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T17:36:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T15:36:59","slug":"digestion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/digestion\/","title":{"rendered":"Digestion"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The food we eat has a long journey to travel before it is digested. This process begins in the mouth, where saliva acts on the food bolus. When food is not digested properly, the stool may contain food residues. You can then see food residues in the stool. This can happen when food is not chewed properly, but in cases of gastrointestinal complaints it may also indicate an intestinal disorder.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stomach acid, bile and pancreatic enzymes play an important role. Reduced enzyme production can make the stool foul-smelling, mushy, light or, conversely, very dark in colour. It may contain a lot of starch or fat or be too acidic. The laboratory offers a digestion analysis that determines the colour, odour, composition, pH and fat content.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

Digestion and stool<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]To assess digestion, the stool is analysed. The fat and starch content provide an indication of digestion. The acidity, colour, structure, traces of blood, inflammatory products, bile salts and digestive enzymes provide an indication of the digestive process.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

Acidity<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]It is desirable for the intestinal contents to be slightly acidic and therefore to have a pH of 6 to 6.80 (not to be confused with the blood, which should be slightly alkaline). Gut bacteria convert plant fibres into short-chain fatty acids that keep the environment slightly acidic; acid-forming bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria also ensure an optimal acidity.
\nA high (alkaline) pH is associated with an increased risk of chronic intestinal inflammation and the development of bowel cancer. Short-chain fatty acids produced by gut bacteria repair damaged DNA and thereby reduce the risk of bowel cancer. They indirectly lower excessively high cholesterol and insulin levels and stimulate healthy mucus production.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

Undigested food<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Is undigested food present in the stool? If pieces of food can be seen \u2013 for example pieces of pepper \u2013 this means that the food has not been chewed properly. Saliva must mix with the food bolus. Dental problems are another possibility \u2013 older people sometimes have dentures that do not fit properly. There may be accelerated transit and a disorder of the small intestine, causing food not to be broken down properly.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

A high starch content in the stool<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]With good bowel function and a healthy diet, the stool contains no starch. An increase in starch in the stool usually indicates excessive consumption of bread, pasta, rice and other starch-rich products. Many people with gastrointestinal complaints such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms have an intolerance to starch-rich products. When a lot of starch is eaten and it is not digested properly, an increase in Candida species is often seen. A high starch content occurs more often in people who are overweight.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

Mushy stools<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Reduced food absorption and mushy stools may indicate an infection with bacteria or the single-celled intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia. Gluten intolerance, food allergy or lactose intolerance can cause these complaints. If mucus is present (with or without blood), there may be intestinal inflammation: Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

Colour, odour and mucus<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]With reduced fat absorption or a blockage of the bile ducts, the stool is light in colour. With constipation or blood loss, it is dark to black. Eating beetroot makes the stool red. In people who eat a lot of vegetables and have rapid bowel movements, the stool is green. A very strong odour indicates an intestinal disorder; this occurs with both parasite infection and coeliac disease. An increase in bile salts can cause sharply acidic-smelling stools.
\nIf the stool has an abnormal colour ranging from light to almost black, mucus and blood may be detectable and the stool has a strong unpleasant odour, there may be intestinal inflammation such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

Increased fat content in the stool<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]An increase in fat in the stool produces a light colour. Determining the fat content is an important test. It can be used to detect diseases of the intestine, stomach or gallbladder. An important reason for poor digestion is a lack of\u00a0stomach acid<\/a>. Many people naturally have a lack of stomach acid. The acidity level increases sharply in people who take acid-suppressing medicines. These medicines cause food to be digested poorly and the gallbladder to function less effectively.
\nA blockage of the bile by gallstones prevents bile from being excreted properly. If the pancreas is functioning poorly, fats are also not digested properly, causing the level in the stool to increase. The small intestine may be inflamed, preventing fats from being absorbed. Damage to the wall of the small intestine increases fat excretion. Causes may include an infection with a bacterium or the parasite Giardia lamblia, a food allergy, coeliac disease or Crohn’s disease.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

Tests that can detect this include:<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n
    \n
  • Acidity<\/li>\n
  • Digestion of fats and starch<\/li>\n
  • Gluten antibodies<\/li>\n
  • Parasitological testing<\/li>\n
  • For pancreatic disorders: the pancreatic elastase test<\/li>\n
  • With bile complaints, symptoms occur when eating fats; a bile salts test is recommended.<\/li>\n
  • Inflammatory diseases: calprotectin, lactoferrin and beta-defensin<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The food we eat has a long journey to travel before it is digested. This process begins in the mouth, where saliva acts on the food bolus. When food is not digested properly, the stool may contain food residues. You…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-59917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized-en-us","entry","no-media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59922,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59917\/revisions\/59922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59917"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.darmklachten.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=59917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}