That's Fit

A friend of my family underwent gastric bypass surgery. The surgery itself went without a hitch and -- other than the expected soreness -- she felt quite good immediately after the surgery. Within the month following, however, problems started to arise. She knew that eating certain foods -- such as sweets -- would be hard if not impossible after her surgery, but she didn't expect that eating anything would give her trouble. Every time she ate she felt nauseated, weak, and often had diarrhea. She also developed gallstones and had to have gallbladder surgery due to her rapid weight loss.

Now, a few years after her surgery, she is thin. But she is pallid and looks sick. Food has become her enemy because every time she eats, she feels ill. She's achieved her weight goals, but it came at a hefty price -- her better health, her energy, and her emotional health have all been damaged.

While the complications my friend has experienced are risk factors for anyone undergoing gastric bypass, not everyone experiences these problems. Or, at least, not to the severity that my friend has experienced them. But, knowing the digestive issues that can result post-surgery, researchers tested the efficacy of probiotics (the beneficial bacteria found in yogurt) on the digestion of post-gastric bypass surgery patients.
During the study, probiotics (in supplement form) were given to surgery patients before surgery and at different points post-surgery. A control group did not take the supplements. Digestion improvements were seen at all stages for those who took the probiotics.

However, researchers were surprised to find another "pro" from the probiotics. All patients who took the probiotic supplements lost more weight than those who didn't. In fact, the probiotic group lost 70% of their excess weight, where the control group lost 66%.

While eating yogurt could also be beneficial for gastric bypass patients, yogurt can't give the high amounts of probiotics that were in the test supplements. But the knowledge about the efficacy of the supplements could mean advances in weight loss surgery -- including combination therapies of less invasive surgeries and probiotic pills.