Consuming Alcohol And Weight Loss Surgery Could Prove A Dangerous Mix

After many years of argument we are finally coming around to the unavoidable conclusion that surgery is the only truly successful and lasting answer to the problem of morbid obesity. And it is certainly not before time!

Today obesity is arguably the number one health problem in the Western world and in the United States alone approximately 60 percent of people are overweight, with almost 24 percent being obese and 3 percent severely obese. Now 3 percent may not seem like a large figure but when you consider that it is more than 9 million morbidly obese individuals this is a pretty major problem.

In spite of the fact that attention is increasingly being turned towards the problem of obesity and its cure, it is surprising just how much remains to be learnt about the condition, including the affect that alcohol can have on individuals who have undergone gastric bypass surgery.

For a considerable time now there has been a fair amount of anecdotal evidence to suggest that individuals who have undergone gastric bypass surgery are affected more by alcohol but it was not until the end of last year that any real attempt was made to look at the extent of the problem.

In a fairly small-scale study the affects of alcohol on 19 individuals who had undergone gastric bypass surgery was compared to the affects on 17 control subjects. The individuals taking part in the study each drank a 5 ounce glass of red wine and their breath alcohol was then measured at 5 minute intervals until it had fallen back to zero.

The study showed that alcohol levels peaked at a higher level in the gastric bypass patients and also took far longer to return to zero. Perhaps most interestingly, the study also demonstrated that just }a single|one} small glass of wine was enough to push the breath alcohol level in a significant number of gastric bypass surgery patients above the legal limit for driving in several US states.

The explanation for the heightened affects of alcohol on gastric bypass surgery patients is not difficult to understand because surgery both reduces the size of the stomach and bypasses part of the intestine, both areas of the body that are responsible for breaking down alcohol before it finds its way into the bloodstream.

So exactly what does this mean for gastric bypass surgery patients?

Well, apart from the obvious need to exercise caution and most definitely to refrain from driving after drinking even small quantities of alcohol, the implications for gastric bypass surgery patients do in fact go a bit wider.

One particular problem is that alcohol is a relaxant and this results in problems with post-surgical weight loss and to the maintenance of weight loss. Because alcohol relaxes the stomach, which includes the lower esophageal sphincter, together with the intestine, patients who enjoy alcohol are able to eat more and alcohol in effect counters the affects of surgery. As if this was not bad enough many individuals become more socially active following surgery and this generally means an increasing consumption of alcohol.

There will still need to be a great deal more research carried out but, at the end of the day, the simple fact is that individuals who have undergone gastric bypass surgery need to be aware of the possible risks of alcohol and adjust their lifestyle accordingly.

Article Source: http://www.yourarticle.info

GastricBypassFacts.info provides considerable information on gastric bypass surgery including what you might expect by way of gastric bypass cost

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated