Fat Intolerance Symptoms – How To Alleviate Them Naturally

Are you running to the bathroom after you eat something deep fried, greasy and oily? Or perhaps you suffer with heart burn or nausea after eating fatty foods.

You may have an intolerance to fatty foods – which is very different to a food allergy. It doesn’t involve the immune system like an allergy does, but instead it is caused from the inability of your digestive system to break down the fat.

The symptoms that you experience after eating fatty foods may turn you off eating anything soaked in oil ever again – which you know isn’t particularly healthy for you anyway!

But you can’t help but wish that this didn’t happen to you. Lets face it, it’s not fun being in pain for hours on end after you have indulged in rich food.

Well I am going to tell you, that it is possible to alleviate these symptoms naturally by simply supporting your body to digest fats!

Before i tell you how, lets first look at what symptoms you may be experiencing so that you can know for sure if you have an intolerance to fatty foods.

Fat Intolerance Symptoms

These symptoms can occur immediately or up to a couple of hours after you’ve eaten fatty foods, and these foods don’t need to be just rich, oily junk foods either.

They can be healthy fats too! Often taking fish oil capsules, which are high in essential fatty acids (good fats) can cause unwanted side effects as well. This doesn’t happen to everyone, so it really depends on the severity of your fat intolerance.

Reflux
Heart Burn
Nausea
Diarrhoea
Bloating
Bowel movements called Steatorrhoea (stee-at-OR-rea) that are frothy and smell foul
Wind

How To Relieve Fat Intolerance Symptoms Naturally

Fat intolerance usually occurs in those of you who have an under functioning liver. The liver is so important in digesting fats because it is responsible for releasing a substance called bile, which is stored in your gallbladder and released every time you eat fatty foods.

Bile acts like the dish washing liquid that you use in the sink to dissolve grease and fat off your dishes. It emulsifies and breaks down the fat you have eaten once it enters the small intestine.

If you have a lack of bile being produced every time you eat fatty foods, the fat won’t be broken down and emulsified adequately which will cause many of the symptoms mentioned above.

If you have had your gall bladder removed, or have a history of gall stones – it is usually a big indicator that your liver isn’t doing too well which can be causing your fat intolerance.

Anything that places stress on your liver like; alcohol, caffeinated drinks e.g. Redbull, Mother, V, coffee, medications or recreational drugs can greatly diminish the functioning of your liver.

If you combine this with a diet lacking fresh fruits, vegetables and good quality protein you may be deficient in the necessary nutrients needed to support your body to detoxify, produce bile and function and its full potential.

Support Your Liver To Help Digest Fat

These are simply ways you can help support the functioning of your liver to help you better digest fat.

Lemon – Squeeze 1/4 to 1/2 a fresh lemon into room temperature water and drink immediately upon rising, this kick starts your liver and assists with digestion of food
Lecithin – Add 1 tablespoon of lecithin on your cereal or in smoothies once to twice daily. Lecithin contains something called choline which is a ‘lipotropic’ and is necessary component to help you metabolize fats
Dandelion Root Tea - Dandelion has several properties to help support your liver to detoxify and function better. It has ‘cholagogue’ and ‘choleretic’ actions that stimulate the release of bile from your gallbladder, as well as increasing the production of bile by your liver. Caution – This should not be used if you have gallstones
Globe Artichoke – This is another herb that has similar properties to Dandelion which can be taken in capsule form after each meal to assist with the digestion of fats. Caution – This should not be used if you have gallstones.

Give your liver some TLC and it will repay you! If you have tried any of these recommendations or have found a great natural remedy for relieving your fat intolerance symptoms then please feel free to share in the comments below.

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14 Comment for Fat Intolerance Symptoms – How To Alleviate Them Naturally

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glen September 19, 2010 7:51 pm
Hi, I have had reactions to some foods and certain supplements for 5yrs after 15 mnts antibiotics for scrub typhus. I had severe candida for 5yrs, threelac cured the exhaust fume reaction,however I’m left with these reactions eg headache, nech ache, nausea, malaise, tinnitus. The Gastro Doc said its a signal from the gut to the brain, like phantom pain.
But offered drugs as treatment. Is this something you are able to fix?
Regards…………..Glen
Chloe Orford September 20, 2010 8:22 pm
Hello Glen,
It’s a little hard for me to say i can ‘fix’ it without understanding the complete picture. It sounds like you have a lot going on with your health regarding your symptoms and it is clear your infection and long course of antibiotics were a big trigger to your present health concerns. As a naturopath I would have to do a one hour consultation to really understand your current state of health and tailor a treatment plan accordingly.
lo January 4, 2011 3:54 pm
I believe I have a fat intolerance since I can only drink low fat versions of dairy and cottage cheese. No problems with those. However, with any level of fat in those products, I feel headachy and naseous, shortly after ingesting. Plus, other types of fat cause the symptoms that you describe in the article above (not so much the headaches).

I’ve recently tried to up my protein levels (I’m a lacto-ovo vegetarian) by eating more eggs. Now, I’m having similar effects after eating the eggs. Do you think the headachyness relates to the fat in the yolk, or something else?

Can you suggest something to try to keep the eggs from bothering me?

It’s a bit of a challenge getting the right amount of protein when I can’t tolerate eggs and milk
Chloe Orford January 10, 2011 9:11 am
Hello lo,
It does sound like you may have a fat intolerance. Since you are a lacto-ovo vegetarian, you may very well be deficient in particular amino acids and nutrients necessary for breaking down fat that are usually found in meat, eggs and milk.

Specific nutrients are choline, methionine and inositol which are important in breaking down and transporting fat.

In the mean time, you may need to look into supplementing your diet with some sort of protein powder e.g. pea protein. This will provide you body with all of the amino acids needed to function properly. Protein is essential for your body and you must get it everyday. If you can’t tolerate protein rich foods then you must supplement your diet until you have a balanced lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet which provides you with enough protein.

The egg yolk does contain fat, so it’s most likely you are having problems with this part of the egg.

I’d suggest seeing your doctor to rule out any other possibility. Without knowing your full medical history, it’s hard for me to help you accurately. A liver function test may be a good idea too, to make sure fatty liver isn’t present.
Pamela February 28, 2011 9:57 pm
Hi! I have a question. I had my gallbladder removed 6 yrs ago, but I have only recently noticed an intolerance to fatty foods. However, it’s a major intolerance! I have had to stick to a very low fat diet to keep from having pains in my right upper quadrant, which I’m assuming is coming from my liver. My question is, why would it take so long to develop this intolerance?
Chloe Orford March 1, 2011 5:41 am
Hello Pamela,
That’s very interesting! Usually many people will experience problems with fatty foods before they have their gallbladder removed due to gallstones inhibiting bile production and flow. It could possibly be because you were lucky enough not to have any gallstones large enough to block off too much bile into the small intestine so you were still digesting fats enough to prevent symptoms from occuring. Since gall stones and gallbladder problems are caused from problems with your liver it could just be the fact that your liver’s function has deterioated over time since the underlying problems weren’t ever addressed. Our bodies have an amazing ability to compensate and still manage to work ok for very long periods (like in your case 6 years) but unfortunately it sounds like it’s catching up with you. Now would be a good time to start addressing those problems!
Helen March 10, 2011 12:09 pm
I have a no-tolerance to animal fats. I am able to eat a little olive oil, but no butter, cream, beef, ham, anything that has any fat in it. Symptoms are nausea, extreme fatigue, chills, resulting in 1-3 days of inability to eat anything other than rice and maybe English muffins and applesauce.
I have have numerous tests, indicating that all my functions are normal (currently seeing a dr. at Mt Sinai in NYC). Had my gall bladder removed 6 years ago; ok for 7-8 months and then started in on the symptoms again. I also experience the pain in my upper right quadrant and in center of stomach area.
Any thoughts?
Thank you,
Helen
Chloe Orford March 10, 2011 8:02 pm
Helen,
Have you had the liver function tests to check for fatty liver etc.? The pain you’re experiencing sounds like it’s over your liver.
Elsa April 2, 2011 3:59 pm
I started having problems with gastritis and then my gastro Dr told me that I also had fatty food intolerance. I took Nexium for a year and a half and now that is not helping. I eat salads,soups veggies, fruit etc but still experienceing pain fight upper quadrant. burning sensation. Any suggestions???
Chloe Orford April 4, 2011 12:11 am
Perhaps you should talk to your doctor about investigating further – e.g. gallstones
Sandra May 10, 2011 1:36 pm
I noticed I had those symptoms after I hadn’t eaten fried food for a while and then had some fried chicken. Makes sense now.
doo June 14, 2011 5:13 am
well i’m a bit unsure if i do have fat intolerance because one time i ate a huge amount of fatty foods afterwards i became nauseated and got really dizzy then i got my blood pressure checked but then its normal, i only experience this kind of stuff if i only ate a large amount. do you think its already fat intolerance?….
Helen Fisher July 3, 2011 2:32 am
I just been diagnosed with psiorsis,I have healthy diet but was wondering if my liver could be the cause, of these horrible spots etc. what can I do to help it along? thanking you for any advise… Helen
audra July 19, 2011 9:32 am
I had my gall bladder removed about five years ago and since then I have had a major intolerance to not only fatty foods but also rich foods and the complete inability to consume raw onion and anything other than a really small amount of cooked onion or garlic. It is to the point where I am quite nervous to eat out as I know ten minutes after eating I will get a bloated stomach and have a sudden bout of cramp followed by diarorhea. Things are quicker and more severe after eating fatty foods. Is there anything I can do to settle my stomach it just feels as though it is constantly upset some days and it has a negative effect on my daily functions as I try and always have an empty bowel or watch what I eat to avoid sudden situations when out. Would appreciate any thoughts or feedback.