Many patients experience problems digesting lactose after having lapband surgical procedure. If you can’t eat much or any dairy products, you still need to get enough calcium, so you may need to take bariatric supplements.
Lactose is a type of sugar found in milk and dairy. It is digested by an enzyme called lactase, which is made in the small intestine.
When most people drink or eat dairy products, the dairy product slowly enters the small intestine, where there is enough lactase to help digest the lactose. But after weight loss surgery, the dairy product goes into the small intestine much faster, which can overwhelm the amount of lactase that’s available.
This can overwhelm your body’s natural digestive enzymes. Gas, bloating, diarrhea, and cramping after eating dairy products are all symptoms of lactose intolerance.
We get most of our dietary calcium from dairy products. It can be hard to get enough dietary calcium even when you can eat dairy. For gastric bypass surgery patients, it’s important to take calcium in bariatric supplements.
Bariatric Supplements: Calcium and Vitamin D
Calcium is one of the most important minerals in our diet. Calcium is best known for making our bones strong but it does much more. It’s used for metabolic processes, is used in nerve conduction, and it’s also vital for normal blood clotting. It may also help prevent colon polyps and, along with Vitamin D, may help prevent colo-rectal cancer and some breast cancers.
If your body doesn’t take in enough calcium, it will start to take it from bones. This can lead to a weakening of bone density and osteoporosis. Also, your teeth are formed of bone. When calcium starts being leeched from bone, you can also suffer tooth damage.
Your body needs Vitamin D to properly absorb Calcium. The easiest way to get Vitamin D is to spend time letting the sun warm our skin. Unfortunately, too much sun can cause skin cancer, wrinkles, and other types of sun damage.
Calcium after Weight Loss Surgery
Calcium can come in a variety of different forms. Typically, Calcium supplements use the Calcium Carbonate form. It’s popular because it’s cheap, but many people don’t absorb it as well. People with less stomach acid–including those who have had gastric bypass surgery–often have more trouble absorbing Calcium Carbonate.
Calcium Carbonate can also cause gastrointestinal discomfort, constipation, and gas in some people. Taking Calcium Carbonate on an empty stomach is more likely to cause intestinal upset.
Calcium Citrate is more expensive than Calcium Carbonate, but it’s better absorbed, and better tolerated by people with reduced stomach acids.
Calcium Chelate Malate is a Calcium combined with amino acids that is better absorbed and can be taken with or without food. The Calcium Chelate Malate form keeps the Calcium soluble in the intestines for better absorption. It is also retained better in your bones and teeth than other forms of Calcium.
The chelation makes the Calcium take up less room for the same amount of nutrient, so you don’t need to take as many tablets. Chelated Calcium has the least likelihood of causing kidney stones. That’s why Calcium Chelate Malate is the preferred form of calcium for the best absorption with fewer daily pills and side effects.