4 Nutrition Deficiencies Caused By Gastric Bypass Surgery
Your doctor must have told you that you will certain side effects from the gastric bypass surgery. One of the top side effects would be suffering from nutrition deficiencies. Gastric bypass surgery divides the stomach into a small upper pouch and lower large pouch.
The small upper section becomes your functioning stomach while the large lower section is useless. This reduces the body’s ability to cut absorb certain calories and nutrition. The operation may help you lose weight but it will make you prone to nutrition deficiencies for the rest of your life. The four types of deficiency you can suffer from are:
Vitamin D And Calcium Deficiency
Vitamin D and Calcium is absorbed by your body from food sources as it passes the duodenum and upper jejunum. Gastric bypass surgery reroutes the digestive tract so that the food doesn’t pass through this area. The lower jejunum doesn’t absorb much Vitamin D and Calcium and this may cause post-surgery deficiency. You will have to follow a diet that contains low amount of these two nutrients due to the low tolerance level of the body.
Iron Deficiency
Your body absorbs Iron from the upper jejunum and duodenum. The iron deficiency in your body is also increased because you will be unable to consume food rich in iron after surgery. Red meat and beef are all rich in iron but your body will not be able to tolerate them due to the reduced size of the stomach. Iron deficiency can be tackled if you regularly consume iron supplements and start eating small portions of food rich in iron.
Vitamin B-12 Deficiency
Vitamin B-12 helps in the formation of red blood cells. Your body’s power to absorb Vitamin B-12 reduces after the gastric bypass surgery since it reduces the number of cells producing hydrochloric acid. Your body can store its Vitamin B-12 but this reserve is used up within a year of your surgery. A deficiency of Vitamin B-12 can cause damage to your nervous system.
Vitamin B-12 is not absorbed by the body via food sources or tablets. You will need a way to send the vitamin to your blood stream without going through the digestive system. You can take Vitamin B-12 supplements which are available in the form of nasal sprays, injections and sublingual pills.
Vitamin B-1 Deficiency
Thiamin is another vitamin that has a risk of being deficient after surgery. Thiamin is absorbed by your body from the upper jejunum. Thiamin deficiency can cause permanent short-term memory loss. You must consume Bariatric Advantage supplements and multivitamins regularly to reduce the deficiency of thiamin.
Deficiency of these valuable nutrients can cause a lot of problems in your body. You must sit with your doctor and chart out a diet-plan that will ensure that you eat food that supplement these nutrients and ensure that your body gets the required nutrition to function properly. You will need a healthy body post surgery to get well quickly.
