Final answer:
Fat malabsorption can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, and anemia, and can lead to nutritional deficiencies and conditions like steatorrhea. Celiac disease, an example of malabsorption, damages the small intestine's microvilli due to a gluten-triggered immune response. A gluten-free diet is essential for managing celiac disease.
Step-by-step explanation:
A disease that involves fat malabsorption could lead to a variety of symptoms and health problems, including diarrhea, nausea, stomach cramps, gas, and greasy stools. If the condition is severe, dehydration may also occur. Fat malabsorption interferes with the digestion and absorption of nutrients, leading to nutritional deficiencies and symptoms such as anemia, skin rashes, and bone pain. In conditions such as celiac disease, consuming gluten triggers an immune response that damages the small intestine's microvilli, affecting nutrient absorption and causing malnutrition, cramping, and diarrhea. Malabsorption of fats may also result in the loss of calcium in feces, as free fatty acids can bind with calcium to form insoluble soaps.
Impaired fat absorption can also lead to steatorrhea, where large amounts of undigested lipids are excreted, and can be a result of bile flow obstruction or a defect in lipid absorption. Furthermore, essential fatty acid deficiency, though rare, can manifest as dry and scaly skin, poor wound healing, and increased susceptibility to infections. To manage conditions like celiac disease, a strict gluten-free diet is crucial to limit and possibly reverse intestinal damage.