Dietary supplements and bariatric surgery

Abstract

Bariatric surgery or weight loss surgery has been in practice for achieving significant weight loss in patients who have failed to achieve weight loss after pharmacological interventions. The rising cases of obesity are a triggering factor for more bariatric surgeries worldwide. Interestingly, sustained weight loss achieved post-bariatric surgery offers metabolic advantages, and patients show improved glucose and lipid metabolisms. Bariatric surgery is directly linked to higher incidences of vitamin, mineral, and trace element deficiencies, thus making patients susceptible to anemia, osteoporosis, and cardiomyopathy. Reduced nutrient absorption capacity, dietary changes, dietary restriction, and altered gastrointestinal tract morphology are some reasons for nutritional deficiency observed in post-bariatric surgery procedures. Micro-and-macronutrient deficiency observed in patients during the postoperative phase requires continuous monitoring of nutritional parameters. Therefore, adequate multivitamin and mineral supplements become essential to prevent/overcome micronutrient deficiencies. Bariatric surgery also raises the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) babies. Hence, a 12 − 24 months gap is recommended between bariatric surgery and pregnancy to achieve desired weight loss targets. The topic of this review is the impact of bariatric surgery procedures on vitamin and mineral absorption and the role of dietary supplements in maintaining a healthy nutritional balance during the postoperative phase.

Keywords:

• bariatric surgery
• micronutrient deficiency
• obesity
• trace elements
• vitamin supplements

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Figure 1. Physiological benefits and health issues associated with bariatric surgery. Patients display sustained weight loss, improved lipid and glucose metabolisms, better hepatic insulin sensitivity, and reduced risk for gestational diabetes mellitus and hypertension post-bariatric surgery. However, bariatric surgery significantly alters the anatomical and physiological features of the gastrointestinal tract, leading to various micro-and-macronutrient deficiencies. Therefore, bariatric patients are more vulnerable to nutritional deficiency disorders such as anemia, bone disorders, and cardiomyopathy.

Figure 2. Dietary supplements post-bariatric surgery. The use of vitamin, mineral, and trace elements helps reduce the risk for nutrient deficiency disorders such as anemia, osteoporosis, and osteomalacia. Women with better nutritional status also have better pregnancy outcomes. In addition, protein supplements improve satiety, physical fitness and help in reducing body weight. The use of probiotics helps lose weight, improve gut microbiota profile, helps in ameliorating vitamin deficiency (vitamin B12), and reduces the growth of harmful bacterial species in the gastrointestinal tract.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.