The Best Vitamins to Take After Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric surgery is a major step that people often take to lose weight and get one step closer to the healthier version of themselves. It is a risky step to take, but with precautions, lots of reading, and of course, talking with your doctor and dietitian about any question you may have, things are a lot easier. 

In this article, we’ll go through all the vitamins that you should take post-op, and we’ll do a brief comparison between vitamins. There are specific times when you should take vitamins so that you get the most out of them, and this article got you covered.

Normal vs. post-bariatric vitamins

Often, we aren’t aware of the different types of vitamins that are available on the market. There is actually a difference between the so-called normal and the post-bariatric vitamins. The post-bariatric vitamins, such are the Celebrate vitamins are manufactured to be easier on the stomach lining, not causing irritation, and they are overall better absorbed into the body. That means you will get a greater amount of the vitamin if it’s a post-bariatric one.

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Normal vitamins, on the other hand, are far less absorbed into the body. This is not a big deal, because we’re getting plenty of vitamins from different foods, as long as our meals are healthy and well-balanced. But, after surgery, you’re not allowed to eat certain types of foods, so this can be a tricky situation. 

Best vitamins after a bariatric surgery

Multivitamin

There are tons of high-quality, post-bariatric multivitamins that you can take. They basically have enough vitamins in them to last you throughout the day. You should know that there are different kinds of multivitamin tablets, any are usually a combination of three or more vitamins. But, you’ll still need to take some extras on the side, so carry on reading. 

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is only found in a few types of foods. Even if you didn’t undergo weight loss surgery, you should still consider taking it on a daily basis. It is also produced from the UV rays that hit your skin while you’re out, walking, jogging, or sunbathing.

Vitamin D is important since it helps with calcium absorption in the guts. It also has a major role in keeping our bones, joints, and teeth healthy and strong. If you don’t get enough vitamin D as a child, you can develop certain bone-related diseases, most commonly known as rachitis. In adult years, there are also things that occur simply because the levels of D are low. Strictly connected postop, vitamin D helps greatly with reducing the inflammation, thus reducing the time that you need to rest completely.

Vitamin B12 

Being one of the eight vitamins in the B group, vitamin B12 is extremely important after surgery. It is connected to our metabolism, and after surgery, it can be really slowed down. Well, taking B12 daily can actually help the metabolism wake up and get back to normal. To obtain optimal body function you’ll need to be taking B12 for a long time, but you will see all the benefits almost instantly. 

Not only does it just regulate metabolism, but it also helps us have more energy throughout the day, and post-op you’ll need all the energy you can possibly get. Your doctor and dietitian will give you the right dosage of this, and every other vitamin on the list, and you’ll be following their advice strictly, with no doubt. 

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Vitamin C

We all take vitamin C to keep us from colds and to boost our immune system. Usually, we take it in the wintertime, but if we take it during the whole year, our skin can become healthier, and there will be many other benefits from taking it daily.

Again, post-op related, vitamin C reduces inflammation and is connected with tissue repair. If you take vitamin C in a liquid form after surgery, it will promote the creation of collagen, and the post-op wounds will close themselves faster, which will once again shorten the resting period. 

Iron

As with any surgery, you’ll lose a certain amount of blood during weight loss one, as well. But, that’s nothing to be afraid of, since the doctor will have that under control. But, certain conditions can occur from this, and of the most common ones is anemia. Usually, you won’t have enough red blood cells, and they are important because that’s how air gets to every little cell in our body. 

By taking iron as a supplement, you’ll be giving the body enough supplies to make the anemia go away faster. If that’s not working, your doctor will give you some advice and different kinds of medicine to get it back to normal again.