As weight loss surgery becomes more popular, more and more vitamin manufacturers are starting to offer multivitamins designed for weight loss surgery patients. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that there are no regulations regarding when a company can put the word “bariatric” on a vitamin label. While some companies offer products that do meet the needs of weight loss surgery patients, others offer products that are completely inadequate for these patients but market them to bariatric patients anyway.
The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) has published specific guidelines regarding the proper use of multivitamins for bariatric patients. These guidelines state that patients should select an adult multivitamin that provides 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance of most nutrients and one that includes minerals like zinc, copper, and selenium.
The Twin Lab Bariatric Support Chewable Multi contains 100 percent of most vitamins, but has no vitamin K. It has low levels of some minerals; for instance, it contains only 33 percent of the recommended daily allowance of zinc, 10 percent of the recommended daily allowance of copper and five percent of the recommended daily allowance of magnesium. It also contains no selenium, manganese, chromium or molybdenum. Deficiencies of these minerals are uncommon in the general population but some bariatric surgery patients, including gastric bypass patients and duodenal switch patients, are at increased risk for deficiencies since part of their intestine has been surgically bypassed. That’s why the ASMBS specifically recommends selecting a multivitamin that contains these minerals.
The Twin Lab Bariatric Support Chewable Multi does contain iron, as recommended by the ASMBS, but only 10 mg, while the ASMBS recommends a multivitamin with 18 mg iron. Patients opting to use this multivitamin may need to take additional iron, along with other supplements like selenium.
It should be noted that the label of the Twin Lab Bariatric Support Chewable Multi says to take according to physician’s directions but that the typical use is one tablet per day. The ASMBS does recommend one multivitamin per day for lap band and gastric sleeve patients, but recommends two multivitamins daily for gastric bypass and duodenal switch patients.
Sources:
Bariatric Nutrition. http://nutrition.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/file/0005/4784/BariatricNutritionReading.pdf. Suggestions for the Surgical Weight Loss Patient.
Twin Lab. http://www.twinlab.com/product/bariatric-support-chewable-multi. Bariatric Support Chewable Multi.