Water-soluble Based Foods

[7-cody]

Hi, I don't know if I have Celiac or not. But I have a quick question(s) for you guys (can't seem to find the answer through my own research):

Do water soluble based foods digest easily even with a small intestine that doesn't function properly?

How can you digest vitamins and minerals without the small intestine? Is it even possible? Perhaps straight shots through the blood stream?

The reason I'm asking is because I've heard a lot about Riceplex and it seems good (riceplex.com). They say it's water-soluble and virtually pre-digested. So now I'm wondering if a person with Celiac, for example, would benefit from this (not because it's gluten-free) with a poorly functioning small intestine. So if I'm not digesting foods and am therefore deficient in vitamins and what not, would Riceplex likely help me at all?

Thanks guys!

[kbtoyssni]

I'm just speculating here, but if your villi are worn, I would think you'd have trouble digesting anything. It's like having half of a healthy intestine if all the villi surface area isn't there.

I did a bit of googling and it looks like you do need fat in your diet to absorb fat soluble vitamins. So if you're not absorbing as much fat because of villi damage, that could cause an issue. This site: Open Original Shared Link says that fat soluble vitamins can be make pseudo-water soluble by adding some ingredients during manufacturing (anyone know how safe this is?) like riceplex is. So, my guess is you might absorb slightly more vitamin due to the water-solubility, but I wouldn't think it's enough to make buying special vitamins worth it.

Anyone else have information on this topic?

[JennyC]

I think this could be a good product if you drank it ice cold. When you drink really cold water it actually gets absorbed from our stomach instead of our small intestine where absorption normally takes place. If the vitamins are very water soluble, then theoretically they could also be absorbed from the stomach. Water absorption happens throughout the intestines, and perhaps these vitamins could also be absorbed from the large intestine as well. It is true that celiac disease can greatly damage the intestines, but if you are following, or plan to follow, a strict gluten free diet then this should not be much of a problem.

I hope this helps.