Supplement Detective

Summary: If you have had gastric bypass surgery or are planning on it, gastric bypass vitamins are not a luxury. They are an absolute necessity for survival. In fact, one of the leading facilities in the country in regards to this popular procedure actually orders their patients to take a supplement.  Usually, a specialized version of vitamins for gastric bypass patients is not needed.

The gastric bypass is a relatively simple procedure…as far as surgery goes. In it, a large part of your stomach and upper small intestine are ‘bypassed’. Only one problem though, that section of the stomach and small intestine that is now bypassed is where a lot of your nutrients and vitamins are absorbed.

Couple that with the fact you are now consuming just a fraction of the food you once did you run a higher risk of having vitamin deficiencies. In fact, one of the most feared problems for patients is encountering a nutrient deficiency.

Now, I’m not going to use this article as a forum for or against gastric bypass surgery. What I am going to try and accomplish however, is to inform anyone who is contemplating the surgery (or who has already done it) on the importance of using high-quality gastric bypass vitamins and how to select them.

The importance of gastric bypass vitamins was brought to my attention recently by a friend who called me up.

She knows that I’m into natural health and might have a solution to her problem. Or, at the very least, a helpful suggestion.

What was that problem? Her aunt had undergone the procedure and was now in and out of the hospital because of infections. They had her hooked up to all kinds of contraptions and she is now receiving I.V. antibiotics to control the infections that seem to keep popping up.

The doctors don’t think this is related to her gastric bypass surgery. I disagree. And anybody with common sense and an understanding of the human body and nutrition would too.

I think that is why she wanted to hear my thoughts on the issue. I have experience with the western view of medicine but, I also have an understanding and appreciation for the human body and natural therapies.

First and foremost, her aunt is now consuming a fraction of the food that she used to. One side effect of this action is obvious weight loss. Another, less desirable effect, is less nutrients for the body to use for critical functions. One of which is fighting and fending off opportunistic infections. Much like what is happening to her right now.

What was my other suggestion?

Exercise. Even though her aunt has lost weight she said she still doesn’t exercise like she probably should.

And in addition to exercise helping her aunt feel better it will also…

Help Keep Her Immune System Strong

Does any of this sound familiar? It’s the first two pillars of my “Big Three”. Which have basically been ignored in an attempt at weight loss.

That’s why I hope that anyone reading this has a firm understanding of how the human body works. The body basically plays a math game with food. If you have a caloric deficiency (i.e., you use more calories than you consume) there is only one outcome.

However, before you run out and buy some store brand off the shelf there are some things you need to know not only about the procedure itself…but…about gastric bypass vitamins.

A Gastric Bypass Of Vitamins?

But, unless your intake is nutrient dense you run a high risk of nutrient deficiencies. Getting enough nutrients after you have undergone a gastric bypass surgery is physically impossible. That is why I say, and so do other experts, gastric bypass vitamins are essential to your health and survival.

But what constitutes a high-quality gastric bypass vitamin?

That’s why I’ve decided to use this opportunity to explain not only about what makes up a high-quality gastric bypass vitamin…but…help protect you against the misinformation surrounding so-called specialized gastric bypass vitamins.

1. You don’t have to purchase specialized gastric bypass vitamins. A regular, high-quality, high-potency multivitamin will do the trick perfectly. This is not just my opinion, this is also the consensus of surgeons and experts in the gastric bypass field.
   And that is because although absorption is effected, most patients are able to get enough absorption from their multivitamins taken by mouth to avoid having to be given intravenous nutrition therapy (and bypassing the stomach). There is one possible exception though…
2. Make sure you are getting ample amounts of your B-vitamins.Particularly vitamin B-12. There is no hard and fast rule on doses. But because of the way vitamin B-12 is complexed in the stomach and absorbed in the small intestine supplementing is essential.
   I would recommend you get occasional labs drawn just to see where you are at. Some physicians recommend vitamin B-12 injections. I think you would be fine with a quality sublingual B-12 unless you want to get your levels up a lot faster. Than an injection would be preferred.
3. Don’t skimp. You should have at least 25mg of the B-vitamins 1, 2 and 6. Most multivitamins don’t have this. Quality ones will.
   I have patients ask me what the preferred gastric bypass vitamins are. My answer? There isn’t one. Instead I would recommend they choose a high-quality multivitamin based on the short guidelines I set forth above and explained in other parts of this website.

This is really the bottom-line on gastric bypass vitamins. You cannot cut corners with them. It will only cost you your health.

You’re not consuming near the amounts of foods that you once did and you have to make up that deficit somewhere.

And the only realistic way to do it is with supplementation.

Listen, whether or not to undergo a procedure like this is your decision. I can tell you that you can lose weight without doing this. Want proof? O.K. What does the procedure actually do?

It stops you from eating so much.

That’s it. Goal achieved.

But you know what else? You don’t need a radical surgery to accomplish this goal. You can do it on your own. But that isn’t what people want. That’s because it requires a lot of hard work, mental and physical anguish and willpower. In short, it’s hard to do.

We aren’t about hard in this country. No, no. We are a quick fix society. We want it easy and we want it now. Gastric bypass surgery fits the bill perfectly.

The only problem is though after the surgery many people realize it isn’t quite as easy as they thought it was going to be.

My friend’s aunt is now in that group.

In fact, she told her niece that maybe she would have just been better off being fat. She said, “I was a heck of a lot fatter then…but…I was a lot happier too.”

A little food for thought.

At any rate, the choice is yours. But just to reiterate gastric bypass vitamins are needed. But you don’thave to get a specialized gastric bypass vitamin which is often just over-priced marketing gimmicks.

Stick with the basics that are laid out above and you’ll do fine.