Why does rapid consumption of a large, sugary meal sometimes lead to osmotic diarrhea?

💡 Explanation

Osmotic diarrhea arises because the high solute concentration in the intestinal lumen, due to the undigested sugars, overwhelms the intestines' absorptive capacity, leading to a net water influx into the lumen. Therefore, diarrhea occurs rather than normal water absorption, because of osmotic pressure from the unabsorbed sugar, rather than bile acid issues or gastric slowing.

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