Vitamins and minerals after weight loss surgery

There is lots of evidence from research about the effects of bariatric surgery on how vitamins and minerals are absorbed from your ‘new digestive system’.

Weight loss surgery works by restricting and / or causing malabsorption of the food that you eat each day.

Surgery that restricts the amount of food that you eat, such as gastric bands or sleeve gastrectomy means that you can’t eat the same amount of energy (calories) that you could before your surgery. However, this also means that you may not be getting all the nutrients that you also need to keep your body healthy.

Some weight loss surgery restricts the amount of food that you eat and also causes some malabsorption of the foods eaten, such as gastric bypass and duodenal switch. This type of surgery limits the amount of food that you can eat, but it also means that not only is some of the energy (calories) of the food that you eat not absorbed, but unfortunately some of the nutrients aren’t too.

It has been shown from research that some people can develop nutritional deficiencies which can cause serious health problems after their weight loss surgery.

The very good news is that by simply taking a complete multi vitamin and mineral supplement and extra calcium each day for the rest of your life, these problems can be prevented.

This is the reason why it is important for you to have regular blood tests too, after your weight loss surgery, to pick up any problems with your health and treat straight away.

If you would like further information on vitamins and minerals or would like to book a FREE consultation with a specialist nurse or dietician then call Vita Clinics on 0800 849 4050

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