Gastric bypass patients may want to add probiotics — the so-called "good" bacteria found in yogurt and dietary supplements — to their daily routine to help lose weight faster after surgery, researchers say.
In addition, the dietary supplement also helped patients avoid becoming deficient in a crucial B vitamin, according to researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Probiotics help maintain a healthy, natural balance of organisms in the intestines, which helps in the digestion of food.
“Surprisingly, the probiotic group attained a significantly greater percent of excess weight loss than the control group,” said Dr. John Morton, associate professor of surgery at the medical school.
Patients in the study received the same medical care but were divided into either a probiotic or a control group following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Both groups were allowed to eat yogurt if they wanted to, but the probiotic group was given one probiotic supplement daily. At the end of three months, the probiotic group averaged a 47.6 percent weight loss, compared with the control group's 38.5 percent weight loss.
In addition, vitamin B-12 levels, which are often deficient following bypass surgery, were 50 percent higher in the group taking probiotics.
Miller said he now recommends probiotic supplements to his patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery.
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