NEW FINDINGS ABOUT CALCIUM INTAKE

Dear Valued Customer, We wanted to let you know about new data presented this week (June 10, 2009) at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Washington DC.  Doctors from the Mayo clinic looked at 97 patients from the past 20 years who have had bariatric surgery.  They found that 21 of these patients had suffered a total of 31 fractures.  Most fractures occurred an average of 7 years after surgery, with the primary locations being in the hands and feet.  Other sites of fractures were the hip, spine and upper arm.   There are many risks for fracture in adults including age, gender, ethnicity, smoking and alcohol use, diseases like type 1 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, and use of medications such as steroids, antidepressants, and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs).  But nutrition is also a serious risk.  Inadequate calcium intake and poor vitamin D status are significant factors in the ability to maintain bone health after bariatric surgery.   The ASMBS recommended intakes for calcium after bariatric surgery are as follows: Adjustable Gastric Band (AGB): 1500mg calcium Gastric Bypass (RNY): 1500 to 1800mg calcium as calcium citrate Duodenal Switch (DS): 1800 to 2400mg calcium as calcium citrate   These recommendations are for calcium intake over and above dietary intake.  While it may sound like a lot it is terribly important that your body gets the amount of calcium it needs.  You need calcium to keep your heart beating and your brain functioning (as well as for other things).  So when the body does not get enough coming in each day, it takes calcium from your bones to supply it to the heart and brain.  People will often not know this until they actually break a bone.    Generally, the ASMBS recommends that AGB and RNY patients get 400 to 800 IU of vitamin D3 daily and that DS patients get 2000 IU of vitamin D3 daily.  There is a lot of data indicating that vitamin D deficiency is very common both before and after surgery, and that many patients require higher doses of D3 based on their lab findings.  If you have not had your vitamin D levels tested, it is a good idea to know what they are.  Your doctor or dietitian can help you determine the amount of vitamin D you need to take based on this test.   To read more about the Mayo Clinic findings, you can click on the links below: Mayo Clinic press release: http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2009-rst/5312.html Article in Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090610124420.ht m Sent to you on behalf of Bariatric Advantage.

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This is pretty much what a cardiologist tole me a couple weeks ago,  that from what he has studied and seen in other bariatric patients he has that they are not taking enough of calcium and getting in enough protein and the results after a few years is having health issues, especially with the heart.  Im 2 1/2 years out and just now discovered I wasnt taking enough calcuim.  On the outside of the bottle it says 600mg Calcium Citrate, I just took that as each pill being 600mg when in fact I didnt read the back of the bottle very good and that is in 2 servings, which is 2 pills, ugh!! Thats so decieving, so I've only been taking half the calcium I should of been taking all this time, ai yi yi.  Hopefully I've caught it in time,  we'll find out when I go back to the cardiologist in a couple months.

Just thought I'd share that.  Its really important we get in all our vitamins and protein no matter how far out we are.

Andy

that is so true Andy and did you notice that it says that you need that much even if the foods you eat have lots of calcium in them.....and that is how i feel about the protein too....i can tell if i dont get in at least 80 grams of protein via protein drinks (Whey Protein) it doesnt matter how much foods i eat with protein, it doesnt help like the protein drinks do....I think that Mayo should do a really good study on how much of protein in foods do we really use....we already know that the only protein that is 100% used by our bodies is Whey Protein....
There is a girl that i know on another board that has been in the hospital for seizures and tremors that the doctors have told her is ireveresble and all from not getting in enough B-12.....she was taking a b 12 sublingual every other day because her pcp told her that was enough.....THEY DONT KNOW HOW MUCH WE REALLY NEED>>>> im glad that i take a b 12 shot two times a month.....
I might do over kill on a lot of things but i like keeping my levels especially on D  B12 and Calcium  all above the normals......