Thinning Down: Do You Need A Gastric Bypass For It?

Obesity is an increasing problem in the world today. It can’t be avoided because of our current environment of fast food and sedentary lifestyles. So what can you do about your ever-expanding flab?There’s always the constant call for exercise and dieting however, sometimes even that is not enough. This is when surgery comes in and a gastric bypass can be needed.

First of all, let’s talk about what exactly is a gastric bypass. Have you ever heard of a heart bypass? This is when surgeons stitch up you arteries to avoid the clogged vessels of the circulatory system around your heart. This is also what happens in a gastric bypass, although the operation involves your digestive system rather than your blood vessels. What the surgeons do is make your stomach smaller by making a pouch at the top of the stomach. This neatly halves your stomach capacity. Then, the surgeons would connect your small intestine to this pouch, skipping a part of it. These two changes contribute to increased weight loss by lower food capacity and lesser calorie absorption over all. Weight loss would accelerate over a three to six-month period, until your body manages to adapt to the lower energy intake.

The question that most doctors ask before they have someone undergo all of this is very simple: do you really need it? Most doctors advise patients seeking a gastric bypass to exhaust all other forms of weight-loss options before doing this operation. It may be the safest option but it is still major surgery on a sensitive part of your body. These is still a chance for complications to set in both during and after the operation. Doctors also screen any patient wanting to have a gastric bypass you may not have a gastric bypass if you have not been obese for more than five years, are alcoholic, experiencing a psychiatric disorder and you have to be between 18 to 65 years of age.

If the patient has exhausted all other options and is eligible for a bypass then the doctor outlines exactly what happens after the bypass is done. After the surgery, the patient will stay in observation for the next three days to check for complications. He won’t be eating anything solid for awhile to let the pouch in his stomach heal. After discharge, he will also be under a rigid, progressive diet that would take him from liquid foods to solid foods in twelve weeks. The patient will also be experiencing the effects of lower energy intake: headaches and bodyaches, along with lower energy levels.

He will also have to take vitamin supplements since the part of the small intestine that is being skipped by the bypass is predominantly in charge of getting the appropriate vitamins and minerals from the food not all, of course, but a significant portion of the recommended daily allowance. The long-term effects are also there. A lower stomach capacity means you may vomit or feel abdominal pains if you eat too much or too fast.

It sounds extreme, but still, a lot of gastric bypasses are done each year it’s up to you to decide whether it is worth the risk.

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Gastric bypass surgeries and other weight loss medical procedures being performed in the United States are increasing for the last few years. This may be in response for the increase in the number of people suffering from obesity. According to the American Society of Bariatric Surgery, there are about 140,000 gastric bypass being performed every year.

Those who have undergone weight loss surgeries, lose about 50 to 60% of their body weight, a year after the surgery. Along with the weight loss, they would also be losing ailments associated with obesity like high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, heart diseases and even cancer.

The Procedure

The most common gastric bypass performed is called the Roux-en Y gastric bypass. In this procedure, a small pouch is created on the top of the stomach. It is stapled, to seal it off from the rest of the stomach. This small pouch will no longer digest any food. The upper part of the small intestine, the duodenum, is attached to this small pouch.

When eating, the food would bypass the small pouch in the stomach and the upper portion of the small intestine. The food would go directly to the middle section of the intestine called the jejunum. Since it is the small intestine that does the absorption of minerals, vitamins and calories, the body will absorb limited calories only. A Y formation is formed just below the stomach.

Incisions are made in the abdomen to perform the procedure. Surgeons will be using the laparoscope or a small, tubular instrument with a camera. This will enable the surgeon to see the abdomen and perform the surgery. The laparoscopic gastric bypass actually makes the stay in the hospital and the recovery period shorter and quicker.

There are still open gastric bypass performed, however, there could be wound-related problems with this kind of procedure. The laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery is performed under general anaesthesia. The procedure lasts for about four hours. Patients who have undergone the procedure stay in the hospital for about two to six days to be monitored for any complications.

After the Surgery

Having a smaller stomach has effects on how much food the patient can eat. There are special diets that a patient recovering from gastric bypass surgery follows. Every food that the patient would eat will be important for his nutrition. There are times that they are also recommended nutritional supplements to avoid deficiencies like anemia or vitamin deficiency.

There are patients reporting weight loss of as much as 50 to 60 percent a year after the surgery. There are even some who would report an astounding 80% weight loss. However, it is still possible for patients to stretch their stomachs and have that large size again. There is still a possibility of getting back those lost pounds. That is why doctors would recommend dietary restrictions and exercise plant that would keep the pounds away.

There are also tendencies that gastric bypass patients would develop gallstones, stomach ulcers, hernia or nutritional deficiencies. The part of the stomach which was bypassed can get enlarged, it could cause bloating and hiccups. There is also the Dumping syndrome which happens when the food moves quickly to the small intestine. This can happen after eating foods high in sugar or fat.

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If you’ve been looking for a way towards a high octane diet, you’ll find fiber to be exactly what you need. Even though research has shown fiber to be powerful, many people aren’t taking this nutrient seriously.

To help you fuel your health with fiber, here are 10 facts to help.

1. Fiber fights diseases. A diet high in fiber can help to prevent colon cancer and heart disease. High fiber helps the body to eliminate cholesterol by binding it in the digestive tract. For thousands of years, fiber has been used to stop constipation.

2. Fiber can actually help with overeating. All high fiber foods will take longer to chew and digest, making you feel satisfied longer

3. Most popular foods don’t have enough fiber. If you like the more popular foods, you probably need to increase your intake of fiber.

4. Grains offer the most fiber. Dietary fiber is actually plant matter that we cannot digest. The best sources are whole grains and concentrated grain products.

5. Kids need fiber as well. Children that are older than 2 years of age should consume a daily intake of fiber. Kids are most receptive to fiber found in fruits, vegetables, and even fortified breakfast cereals.

6. More fiber needs more water. In order to keep fiber moving through your digestive tract, you’ll need to consume a lot of water. With your diet of fiber, you’ll need eight or more glasses of water every day.

7. Fiber cannot be cooked out. When you cook your fruits and vegetables, don’t worry about cooking the fiber out, as it stays. The fiber found in fruits and vegetables aren’t just in the skin or in the peel.

8. You can get enough fiber. If you eat more than 50 grams of fiber in a day, you can get diarrhea and bloating, which can interfere with your body’s absorption of other key minerals.

9. Getting the right amount of fiber in your diet doesn’t have to be hard. Even though you may think so, getting the amount of fiber you need isn’t very hard to do. All you have to do is eat the right foods and you’ll be well on your way to a fiber
rich lifestyle.

As one of the key ingredients to healthy eating, fiber is something you don’t want to skip. Fiber can serve many different purposes, which were covered above. If you aren’t getting enough fiber in your diet – you should do something about now instead of waiting until it is too late.

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