include an intolerance to foods high infats, lactose
intolerance, bouts of vomiting, diarrhea, and intesti-
nal discomfort
Studies on the risks of these surgeries continue. A
2003 report showed that gastric bypass surgery risk
increases with age, weight and male gender. Patients
age 55 and older experienced more complications than
did younger patients and male patients had more life-
threatening complications than female patients, par-
ticularly those who were more severely obese.
Normal results
Many people lose about 60% of the weight they
need to reach their ideal weight through obesity sur-
gery. However, surgery is not a magic weight-loss
operation, and success also depends on the patient’s
willingness to exercise and eat low-calorie foods. A
2003 report showed that super obese patients had a
lower success rate with laparoscopic vertical banding
gastroplasty than those considered morbidly obese.
However, the overall success rate was nearly 77% of
patients carrying less than 50% excess weight four
years after the procedure.
Resources
PERIODICALS
‘‘Gastric Bypass Surgery Risk Increases with Age, Weight,
and Male Gender.’’Medical Devices and Surgical
Technology Week.January 19, 2003: 29.
‘‘Laparoscopic Vertical Banding Gastroplasty Safe and
Effective for Morbid Obesity.’’Medical Devices and
Surgical Technology Week.January 19, 2003: 2.
Sadovsky, Richard. ‘‘Obesity Surgery May Cure Diabetes in
Nonobese Patients.’’American Family Physician.56
(February 15, 2003): 866.
Tish Davidson, A.M.Bernstein diet
Definition
The Bernstein diet is a low-carbohydrate,high-fat
diet for people with diabetes (diabetics). It goes
against the conventional high-carbohydrate, low-fat
diabetic diet recommended by much of the medical
community.
Origins
The diet was developed by endocrinologist and
Type I diabetic Richard K. Bernstein and first pub-
lished in his 1997 bookDr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solu-
tion: A Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood
Sugars. It is intended for diabetics and people with
insulin resistance syndrome. Diabetes is a disease in
which the body does not produce or properly use insu-
lin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar,
starches and other food into energy. Insulin resistance
often goes along with other health problems, like dia-
betes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart
attack. When a person has many of these problems
together, it is called insulin resistance syndrome.
Bernstein was diagnosed with diabetes in 1946 at
the age of twelve. He was put on the standard low-fat,
high-carbohydrate diet for diabetics. He remained on
this diet, even though his condition worsened and he
developed many complications of the disease, until- During this time, he experienced frequent
bouts of hypoglycemia (excessively low blood sugar)
along with headaches and fatigue, which he said was
caused by the large doses of insulin he was taking to
help regulate his blood sugar levels. He blames this
cycle of hypoglycemia followed by insulin injections
on his high-carbohydrate diet. Doctors recommend a
high-carbohydrate diet for diabetics because it raises
blood sugar. When blood sugar levels get too high in
Type I diabetics, they must be brought down with
insulin injections. In 1969, Bernstein, an engineer,
began adjusting his insulin regimen from one injection
a day to two and cut down oncarbohydratesin his
diet. The changes had only minimal effect. In 1972, he
began checking his blood sugar levels five to eight
times a day, making small changes to his insulin regi-
men and diet to see what the effects would be. Within a
year, Bernstein said he had refined his diet and insulin
injection schedule to the point of having nearly con-
stant normal blood sugar levels. His health improved
considerably. He spent the next few years trying to
convince the major medical journals and physicians
who treated diabetes that his method of closely mon-
itoring his blood sugar levels and maintaining a rela-
tively constant, normal blood sugar level could help
other diabetics. The attempts failed. So in 1979, Bern-
stein quit his engineering job and entered medical
school. In 1983, he opened his own medical practice
in New York. After that, he began formulating his diet
plan that became the focus of his 1997 book.
Description
The Bernstein diet is designed as a medical diet
rather than for weight loss, although people can lose
weight on it as it is similar in many respects to the
Atkins diet. Both diets stress foods that are high infats
andproteinand low in carbohydrates. That formula isBernstein diet