FOOD BARIATRIC DIETS
What will I learn from this feature? How to care for the bariatric patient pre- and post-surgery
FROM BURGERS TO
BLENDERS
A good diet pre- and post-bariatric surgery is the key to surgical success and long-term healthy weight maintenance What is bariatric surgery?
Bariatric surgery encompasses a group of procedures that can be performed to facilitate weight loss, although these procedures can also be performed for other conditions. It includes stomach stapling, gastric bypasses, sleeve gastrectomy and gastric band maintenance. In general, such surgery is used in the treatment of obesity for people with a BMI above 40, or those with a BMI between 35 and 40 who have health problems such as type 2 diabetes or heart disease.
26 Care Home MANAGEMENT
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etting into the right diet plan before bariatric surgery and sticking to it is important for three reasons: The higher the body mass index before surgery, the more likely the person is to develop complications. Getting the diet in line well before surgery will bring down the BMI and reduce the surgical risk
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It gives the body the energy and nutrients it needs to heal from surgery and function properly during extreme weight loss
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It helps to reduce the risk of subsequent complications from bariatric surgery, while maximising weight loss and maintenance.
Typically, a pre-surgical bariatric diet will most likely be high in protein and low in carbohydrate with plenty of fluids. For the two weeks leading up to surgery, the bariatric diet will most likely be a liquid one (with vitamin supplementation) with a daily calorie count of at or below 1,000. A high-protein/lowcarbohydrate bariatric diet is important for three big reasons… 1 Reduces bleeding 2 Promotes healing 3 Shrinks and softens the liver – an enlarged liver can make surgery more difficult by blocking the surgeon’s view and increasing the risk of damage during surgery. www.chmonline.co.uk