Weight Loss Surgery, Part II

I wrote about my apprehension with weight loss surgery before. I mostly talked about it being surgery and therefore risky and how it's not a perfect solution because it doesn't deal with the causes of weight gain. I mentioned vitamin deficiency, but didn't go into the specifics. The part of the small intestine that is bypassed is the part responsible for Calcium absorption.

The surgery also limits fat intake which hurts absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like Vitamin D. I've written about the importance of Vitamin D before. Vitamins A, E and K are also fat-soluble. Vitamin A helps with vision. Vitamin E has many bodily effects, none of which are as easy to understand as vision. Vitamin K helps with blood coagulation and bone health.

That's a look at the standard, long-term effects of the surgery. Because they're known and understood, doctors are able to deal with them and can help patients take measures to avoid having deficiencies in these vitamins. There is a new long-term side-effect that is just beginning to surface. It's not understood, so prevention and treatment is difficult, if not impossible. People who are susceptible to rare wasting disease are triggering the disease with surgery.

Yes, it's rare, but it's something else to consider before embarking on a path to weight-loss that is surgical and not behavioral in nature. Even the chart below, which is from a surgery center lists many other negative side effects. I think those get downplayed and people focus on the happy, perfect, thin life they'll achieve.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D levels can affect weight loss. By increasing the amount in your blood stream, you can increase the effectiveness of a weight loss regimen.

This is something you can control. Taking a daily Vitamin D supplement can help with weight loss in addition to the things we already knew it did. It helps with bone density, immune function, inflammation and cell growth.

The RDA for Vitamin D is 600 IU/15mcg. There are questions as to whether that is high enough, so you may want to consider taking a little bit more. It is fat soluble, so, unlike Vitamin C, you can overdose on it. Institute of Medicine (IOM) has set the tolerable upper limit (UL) to 4000 IU per day for ages 9–71+ years. Make sure, if you supplement, that you are using vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and not the inferior form known as vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol).

If you're thinking that you already eat foods rich in Vitamin D and you're taking a supplement, you should be aware of the following things that may counter all of your really good efforts.

There are some things, besides diet that can cause low levels of Vitamin D. Certain medical problems, including Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis and celiac disease, can affect your intestine's ability to absorb vitamin D from the food you eat. Being darker skinned or not getting enough sun exposure can limit your body's ability to naturally produce it. Being overweight may also hinder absorption of this vitamin. That's a double hurt because of it's assistance in losing those excess pounds. On top of all that are the drugs that may hurt your levels.