62 Part I: Eating Right with Every Bite
Discovering what vitamins and
Discovering what vitamins and minerals can do for you
Vitamins and minerals play a huge role in your health. They regulate the
following body functions:
✓ Appetite
✓ Nutrient absorption
✓ Hunger
✓ Metabolic rate
✓ Fat and sugar metabolism
✓ Energy storage
You can see that vitamins and minerals are necessary not only for good
health, but also for weight loss.
Vitamins and minerals must be taken in through diet or supplementation.
Getting as many nutrients as you can in your food is preferable, but getting
them through supplements is much better than nothing. The nutrients in
foods are used more efficiently by your body. Supplements often consist
of binders and fillers that your body doesn’t need or use. And food tastes
better!
Multivitamins
When looking for a multivitamin, it’s essential that you read labels carefully
and consider the following points:
✓ Time-release and enteric coated vitamins are not recommended for
weight loss surgery patients.
✓ Children’s vitamins are not recommended because they don’t have all
the vitamins and minerals you need.
✓ Several specialized bariatric formulas are available, and your surgeon
may have a brand preference.
For about the first month after surgery, chewable or liquid vitamins are
recommended no matter what kind of surgery you had. After the first month,
gastric bypass patients may absorb liquid vitamins better than solid or
chewable. If bypass patients choose to use tablets, a good rule of thumb is
they must be no larger than the eraser of a pencil. If larger, they may be cut
or ground (be certain they’re not time release). For convenience sake,
chewables may be better than tablets. Chewing breaks them down, making
absorption easier. Saliva has some digestive enzymes that also help you
absorb the supplement.
