You are probably already aware of the importance of vitamins, but even more emphasis need to be made when getting the right nutrients after bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery, or weight loss surgery, reduces how much food you can eat during each meal. You are asked to eat 5-6 smaller meals a day in order to get the right nutrients over the course of a day. Make sure you get the right vitamins to improve your health and speed up your recovery after surgery.
The Importance of Vitamins Post Bariatric Surgery
Vitamins are essential to anyone’s physical health, but they help even more when you have had weight loss surgery. Vitamins help to regulate your body’s processes, help with your metabolic rate, improve brain activity, help with appetite and hunger receptors, improve fat and sugar metabolism, improve thyroid and adrenal function, create energy storage, and help you with proper nutrient absorption. While you can take supplements in order to get vitamins you need, food sources is always the best way to get these nutrients. It helps your body absorb them more naturally when you have fresh, healthy and whole food sources. Foods that generally have the vitamins you need include dark, leafy greens and other vegetables, fruits, whole grains, dairy and lean meat or fish.
The Best Vitamins
Many of the vitamins you ate before surgery are the ones you need to be sure you get after having weight loss surgery. This includes iron, calcium, folic acid, protein, vitamin B1, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, and zinc.
What Happens if You Fail to Take Them
The following explains what kinds of complications you can experience if you fail to get the right vitamins and minerals into your diet after weight loss surgery.
Calcium – Without enough calcium in your diet, it can lead to osteoporosis.
Iron – Iron is protecting you from fatigue, lack of energy, hair loss, and anemia which means you don’t have adequate red blood cells for oxygen in your body.
Folic acid – Also called folate, folic acid deficiency can also lead to anemia.
Protein – Without a proper amount of protein in your diet, you could have organ failure, gallstones, muscle deterioration or experience early death.
Vitamin B1 – Vitamin B1, also called thiamin, helps with your digestive system, nervous system, heart, memory, and concentration.
Vitamin A – Without enough vitamin A, you could have an increased risk of blindness, heart disease, infections, and death. It is just as dangerous if you are pregnant and don’t get enough vitamin A.
Vitamin B12 – Lack of vitamin B12 causes tingling in your hands, neurological disorders, anemia, and fatigue.
Vitamin D – Vitamin D is helping with your kidney and liver, and can lead to disorders of this organ if you don’t get adequate amounts.
Vitamin E – Vitamin E deficiency could also lead to anemia and neurological disorders, as well as causing you to heal slower.
Vitamin K – Vitamin K helps your body reduce the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis. Without enough vitamin K in your diet, you might also experience bruising more easily.
Zinc – Zinc helps with hair and nails, with deficiency causing hair loss and thinning, and very brittle nails.
How to Ensure You’re Getting the Right Vitamins
Getting blood work before you get weight loss surgery is recommended because it can help your doctor determine if you have any deficiencies before surgery. To make sure you get enough vitamins, eat a balanced diet of nutritious foods, avoiding processed foods that have no nutritious value. Keep note of everything you eat, so you can track the vitamins, minerals and nutrients you are eating.