What would cause someone to lack digestive enzymes?

Answer 1

The mouth makes salivary amylase.
The pancreas makes amylase and lipase, in response to hormones produced by the gastric and intestinal mucosa when food touches them.
The pancreas can be damaged, or the flow of enzymes from the pancreas through the pancreatic duct can be lost.
The intestinal mucosa make lactase.

Starting with theses hints, ask:
Is there interference with the flow of saliva?
Is there a severe loss of stomach or upper intestine?
Is there an obstruction or leak in the pancreatic or common bile duct?
Is there damage to the pancreas, due to
Infection
Toxicity
Tumor
Cystic Fibrosis

Is there damage to upper small intestinal mucosa, due to tropical sprue, gluten-sensitive enteropathy, or other infection?

Note: Digestive enzymes are not often measured directly, and many other factors can determine how well and how comfortably we digest food.

Answer 2

blockages of the biliary tree (sphincter of Odi, common bile duct, pancreatic duct) can cause lack of digestive enzymes in the gut. A common cause in childhood is Cystic Fibrosis (they also suffer from lung problems because the secretions are so viscous they cannot travel through the biliary or the bronchial tree). These children have to take digestive enzymes with the meals to allow the food to be broken down into absorb-able elements.

Answer 3

The food wont be digested then basically the nutrients wouldnt be broken down. Its just like grass since cows eat it why cant we? we cant because we dont have any enzymes to break down the grass into nutrients so it gets excreted quite simply same with ur question.

Answer 4

Because they are set to shut down. Example: alpha-galactosidase that digests lactose to glucose and galactose. In many persons, drinking milk causes intestinal gas, diarrhea, because the person can no longer digest lactose. One sees Lactaid milk in supermarkets, in which the lactose has already been broken down. In some human populations, evolution has occurred to allow these people to digest lactose.

Answer 5

The removal of the gallbladder