Avoiding Malnutrition
A balanced diet contains all the nutrients
your body needs to keep itself healthy.
After bariatric surgery, however, your food
intake has significantly decreased, making
it difficult to get all the nutrition you
need through food alone.
Also, after certain surgeries, the digestive
process has been changed so that not all
the food you eat gets absorbed. This means
nutrients you could be getting from your
food may not be fully absorbed for your
body to use.
Supplements will be necessary to meet your
nutritional needs. Talk with your surgeon
and Registered Dietitian to discuss what
supplements will be necessary after your
surgery.
Lab work also will be reviewed regularly.
Adjustments to medications or supplements
may be based on your lab results.
Be careful when gathering information from
sources other than your healthcare team.
Information is plentiful on the Internet
and elsewhere regarding supplements, food
choices and the like. It may be difficult
to determine if the information is appropriate
to you. Regardless of the accuracy of the
information, it is not personalized to you
or your situation. It is best to review
information with members of your healthcare
team.
Protein is important for many daily functions
of your body. Some of the most noticeable
signs of protein malnutrition can be hair
loss, fatigue and changes in your skin.
These take time to develop and may not be
noticed for three or four months of continued
protein malnutrition.
Your surgeon and Registered Dietitian will
discuss your protein needs with you and
work with you to be sure you know how to
meet your protein needs.
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