Using dietary supplements following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery has been proven to help obese patients to lose weight quicker in addition to avoiding a crucial B vitamin deficiency. This is according to new research conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Hospital and Clinics. This study was written by Dr. John Morton, MD, a third year medical student (Gavitt Woodard) and five additional medical students for publication in the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery.
The conclusion of the study is that those gastric bypass patients who took probiotics post-surgery tended to successfully lose more weight than those who did not take probiotics. Probiotics are simply “good” bacteria that may be found in food products such as kefir, and over-the-counter dietary supplements like the popular Bacteral.
Details of the Study
The study documented the progress of 44 subjects for whom Dr. Morton had performed gastric bypass from 2006-2007. Subjects were randomly placed into either the control or probiotic group; both groups received the same medical care, nutritional counseling and support of weight loss groups. Both the control and the probiotic groups were allowed to consume a natural source of probiotics: yogurt. However, the probiotic group consumed one probiotic supplement per day whereas the control group did not. After three months, the probiotics group showed a 47.6 percent weight loss in comparison to 38.5 percent loss in the control group.
Vitamin B-12 levels were significantly higher in the probiotic group; at three months the levels in the probiotic group were 1,214 picograms per milliliter and 811 picograms per milliliter in the control group. This is a significant finding since bypass patients are often found to be deficient in B-12 post surgery.
Morbid obesity is a very real problem in America and bypass surgery is becoming increasingly the popular treatment option. Approximately 150,000 American’s opt for gastric bypass surgery every year. Dr. Morton has performed over 1,000 bypass surgeries and due to post surgery problems he observed, specifically patients with post surgical eating problems, he designed this study. He observed many patients with problems eating after surgery but when he could not find any anatomical reasons for the problems he realized that perhaps the problem was with bacterial overgrowth in the intestine. This study was designed to prove or disprove his hypothesis that bacterial overgrowth could be the causative agent for blockage and the resultant eating problems in post surgery patients. The results seem highly indicative that probiotics have a very positive effect on these symptoms.
Dr. Morton states that now he recommends that his bypass patients use probiotic supplements post surgery. He is planning to look for other ways to further enhance results of the bypass procedure.
Most of us are unaware of the importance of bacteria in our intestines. Bacteria are critical for proper digestion but when you have too much “bad” bacteria it alters how your digestive tract empties and causes changes in your motility. Probiotics, whether found in natural foods or in supplements like Bacteral, help promote a bacterial balance. Dr. Morton feels that a portion of the puzzle of obesity may be related to the type of bacteria contained in the intestine.
