Bookmark Website  | Free Registration  | The Team
The Lounge  | Champions  | The Wire |  Schedule |  Audio  |  Arcade  |  The Top Ten  |  Historical  |  Email  |  Video

Myth: Gastric Bypass Patients Can Never Be Nutritionally Healthy


A common claim from gastric bypass detractors is that after surgery patients can never be nutritionally healthy and they must take daily vitamin supplements just to survive.

It is a mistaken notion that weight loss surgery patients cannot lead a nutritionally sound life. The assumption is due to the restrictive and malabsorptive nature of the surgery it is impossible to eat a nutritionally sound diet. However, when healthy food choices are combined with a solid vitamin and mineral supplement program bariatric patients do enjoy sound nutritional health. In fact, after surgery, most weight loss patients are more nutritionally healthy than before surgery.

Furthermore, evidence suggests most Americans should take vitamin and mineral supplements to ensure nutritional wellness. In the 2005 Dietary Guidelines published jointly by the Department of Agriculture and Department of Health & Human Services the government concedes that dietary supplements are a useful source of nutrients when nutritional needs are not being met through diet.

Here's the quote: "A basic premise of the Dietary Guidelines is that nutrient needs should be met primarily through consuming foods. . . In certain cases, fortified foods and dietary supplements may be useful sources of one or more nutrients that otherwise might be consumed in less than recommended amounts."

In most cases Americans, even those criticizing gastric bypass, don't meet their RDI of vitamins. Furthermore, most Americans do not know the specific guidelines are for vitamin and mineral intake. Even more alarming, because Americans do not consistently have annual check-ups and blood work, many do not know the state of their nutritional health.

WLS patients who return annually to their bariatric centers undergo blood tests to screen for nutritional health. Most patients meet with a nutritionist to assess vitamin and mineral needs and make adjustments for better health. Gastric bypass patients are on top of the nutritional game when they follow the program.

Bariatric patients who desire optimum health and nutrition will take dietary supplements daily. Combined with wise healthful food choices they can meet their body's nutritional needs.

The Food and Drug Administration considers vitamins, minerals, herbals and botanicals, animal extracts, amino acids, proteins, concentrates, and teas dietary supplements. The FDA governs the labeling and intake recommendations for dietary supplements. The following are FDA terms for describing dietary and nutritional needs:

DVs: Daily Values - Daily values are two sets of references: DRV's and RDIs.

DRVs: Daily Reference Values - a set of dietary references that applies to fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, carbohydrate, protein, fiber, sodium, and potassium

RDIs: Reference Daily Intakes - a set of dietary references based on the Recommended Dietary Allowances for essential vitamins and minerals and, in selected groups, protein. RDI's are essential to our health.

RDAs: Recommended Dietary Allowances - a set of estimated nutrient allowances required daily to maintain good health - established by the National Academy of Sciences. It is updated periodically to reflect current scientific knowledge. RDA's set the minimum intakes of vitamins and minerals and protein needed for the average person to stay healthy.

© 2005 Kaye Bailey - All Rights Reserved

Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of http://www.livingafterwls.com and http://www.livingafterwls.blogspot.com

Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often.

To subscribe to the LivingAfterWLS monthly newsletter "You Have Arrived" click on http://www.livingafterwls.com and enter your details in the subscription box.


MORE RESOURCES:

AFP

French weight loss drug 'killed at least 1300'
AFP
PARIS — Mediator, a drug licensed for use by diabetics that became widely prescribed in France as a slimming aid, "probably" caused at least 1300 deaths before it was withdrawn, a study published on Thursday said. Mahmoud Zureik of the National ...
Study claims French weight loss drug, Mediator, killed at least 1300RFI

all 11 news articles »


Mother Nature Network (blog)

Weight loss: A possible benefit of the recession?
Mother Nature Network (blog)
Evidently there is some evidence pointing towards a link between an economic recession and weight loss. While one of the Freakonomics co-authors, Stephen Dubner, thought that the recession would lead to weight gains because people would head for fast ...

and more »


PR Web (press release)

Medi-Weightloss Clinics® Hits 2 Million Pounds Lost Milestone
PR Web (press release)
Although Medi-Weightloss Clinics® is no Mother Nature, it has helped knock down plenty of weight over the past 6 years — 2033748 pounds to be exact. The nation's premier physician-supervised weight loss program is working to reduce the obesity rate by ...

and more »


Houston Weight Loss Surgeons Discuss How to Choose the Right Bariatric Practice
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Drs. Yu and Scarborough discuss key aspects to look for in a practice before undergoing a weight loss procedure such as gastric plication to help improve results and get patients back on track towards leading a healthier life.

and more »


KTVU San Francisco

FDA warns against quick weight-loss programs using hormone
KTVU San Francisco
Proponents of a hormone-based diet claim you can lose 10 pounds in three weeks with no exercise, but this unusual weight-loss program some swear by comes with serious government warnings. For Sanjay Mohindra, tennis comes easy.
HCG Diet Concerns 2/7/12KOSA

all 2 news articles »


USA TODAY

Weight loss: Clinics halt Lap-Band surgeries amid controversy | MassDevice.com ...
Mass Device
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — A pair of outpatient clinics in Los Angeles stopped offering weight-loss surgeries using the Lap-Band gastrointestinal device amid ongoing controversy over a marketing campaign. The FDA late last year issued warning letters to 8 ...
Lap-Band surgeries halted at two LA clinicsUSA TODAY
Clinics tied to 1-800-GET-THIN temporarily stop Lap-Band surgeryLos Angeles Times
Allergan stops selling Lap-Band to 1-800-GET-THIN doctorsInjuryBoard.com
California Healthline -French Tribune
all 56 news articles »


Roduve's Slim Weight Patch Offers Weight Loss Without Pills or Complicated ...
International Business Times (press release)
New York, NY - (IBWire.com Feb 9, 2012) - Weight Loss Patches, which have been on sticky ground in the past after several were removed by the US's Food and Drug Administration for not living up to their claims, is slowly redeeming itself with the ...



Books offer tips on weight loss and raising children with special needs
Bangor Daily News
By Patrick Layne, Bangor Public Library YOU: LOSING WEIGHT: THE OWNER'S MANUAL TO SIMPLE AND HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS by Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen, published May 2011. Doctors Oz and Roizen reveal 99 of the best weight-loss strategies in a compact, ...



eMaxHealth

Drugs with modified lifestyle help weight loss
Times of India
A study led by the University of Leicester looks at the effectiveness of anti -obesity drugs and a modified lifestyle on weight loss and BMI. The review was based on 94 studies including over 24000 individuals and assessed how effective the drugs were ...
Don't Take These 3 Weight Loss Drugs Without Reading This First!eMaxHealth
Anti-obesity drugs and lifestyle advice 'an effective combination'Netdoctor

all 13 news articles »


Dallas Weight Loss Surgeon Adds Bariatrician
Sacramento Bee
As a Board Certified Bariatrician, Dr. Obi will head up the Bariatric Solutions AfterCare program as well as assisting patients during their pre surgery diet requirement for the weight loss surgeries performed at Bariatric Solutions: Lap Band, ...

and more »

Google News


Advertisement



Section Site Map - Submit News - Feedback - Comments - Advertise with Us

Copyright © 2006 Luminati Inc. All rights reserved.