Pale Stools Whenever Going Too Low On Fat?

This might be a bit disgusting but it‘s something that happens to me whenever i go too low on fat for more than 2-3 weeks. Stool gets pale. I searched it up on the net but all i find is that it might be a liver/gallbladder or pancreas issue. I‘m not sure about that as when i eat some fat again especially olive oil it fixes this issue a day or two after. Aside from that everything seems to work 2x times better when limiting fat intake(<10g/day). Temps are good, breathing and heart rate are in good range too, blood pressure went down rapidly after a week in, energy is very stable, no cold extremities not even when stressed(i just sweat a bit more) so there‘s not really anything that worries me except for these pale stools. And i‘m way more hungry too, i need to eat like every two to three hours. Diet-wise it‘s very strict when on low fat periods as i don‘t do this all the time because of the inconvenience and hunger. It‘s mostly skim milk with added sugar, OJ, cottage cheese, rice, some ruminant meat every now and then without the fat, shrimps, shellfish, coke(not the hfcs one), liver once a week, grapes or whatever ripe fruit i can find and a tablespoon coconut oil just to make sure my sfa:pufa ratio stays high. It‘s the usual nothing special around here. I also take all fat soluble vitamins on the skin just to make sure i‘m getting enough until i have this problem solved.

So what can i do to increase bile output or it‘s production or whatever the problem is idk. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

Bile is secreted to help digest fat. Bile makes your poo brown. If you don't eat fat then you don't need bile.

If it returns to normal color when you eat fat that would be a good sign that everything is working.

 

Hi. This is purely my personal experience without statistical or scientific background, but it might be helpful for you nevertheless.
I also did a very low fat experiment a year ago for a few months. The symptoms that I experienced were very similar to yours, including the pale stool. Eventually, after a few months I started feeling not so optimal anymore and stopped the experiment. Even though I lost a significant amount of fat and waist circumference during the few months of very low fat, I gained almost all of it back after including butter, coconut oil, whole fat milk and dark chocolate back into my diet. To make it clear: I did not start a high fat diet, I just went back to normal fat (maybe in the range of 30-60g /day, but I do not count in detail) with peaty foods. I felt much better again and my stool color "normalized".
To sum this experience of mine up, I think that bile is a very important detoxification pathway for the body and "blocking" or deactivating this pathway is not a very good idea. It might be possible to keep the pathway open on a very low fat diet, maybe protein is the answer. However, clearing the body of stored PUFAs might require a certain amount of fat to be effective.
You could try including more protein (meat, liver) into your diet and see if this helps with the stool color. Also, it might sound fancy to be hungry every two to three hours, and I experienced this as well, but then I asked myself if this really is a "normal condition" for a healthy body. I think no, it isn't. Protein might help in this regard as well.
I hope my post helps you find the right way and solve your problem. All the best to you!

 

I'm interested in this. Stimulating bile flow should help (taurine, coffee), I definitely don't want to end up clogging the gallbladder and liver. While other factors were at play (no dairy), digestion was faster despite the pale stools.

 

This, without bile your ***t is a light beige color.

I have never actually gone low fat, because I enjoy fat too much. However I've noticed that when I ate a very high fat diet, my stools were very pale. Could be due to bile depletion in my case, and no need for secretion in yours.

 

I find taking copper increases brown in stools

 

Thanks! I too think it‘s something to do intermittently rather than the whole time. I already stopped because of the hunger and i‘ve got the feeling that maybe food isn’t properly absorbed without some fat. Maybe next time i‘ll try whole milk rather than the skimmed one. And coconut oil didn‘t help at all so maybe it‘s the longer chained fatty acids found in olive oil and animal products that stimulate bile flow. Even if you were to eat only raw milk, fruits and some meat, you‘d still get some reasonable amounts of fat so you‘re maybe right that it‘s not completely „natural“.

 

You‘ve got that too? And did the taurine/coffee help?

 

Yeah but what happens when bile stays in the gallbladder for a long time?

 

Yes. I went off coffee and caffeine for some time so I haven't tried them or redbull in that particular context. I think turmeric could be worth a try as well to stimulate bile flow, I wonder if tasty (spices, herbs and other seasonings, food combinations etc..) and solid (rather than liquid) meals would help.