RE: Vitamin/Mineral Question

[Guest guest]

Holy cow. For once, I actually agree with Ray! Someone put that in the

Graduate-OSSG scrapbook, please! LOL

Now I also question combining iron and calcium in the same delivery mechanism.

Because the small intestine receptors for iron and calcium are identical, the

iron always " wins " and you are going to get ZERO calcium, you need to separate

them by at least two hours.

I don't think ANY of the bariatric supplement systems out there are that great.

Once you're on them, it's just too hard to adjust them to deal with the blood

test results from your individual body, and they all cost at least twice what

the typical " roll your own " system costs. No thanks.

I'm starting to think that the REAL business opportunity lies in getting a

scientific degree and nutritionist credentials, and then building custom " roll

your own " programs for individuals based on their blood test results, their

surgery type, and their tolerance for chewables, capsules, and big pills. Tina?

You in? We could make this happen, and I think people would really benefit from

such a service.

Z

Open RNY 09.17.01

Http://www.ziobro.us

Re: Vitamin/Mineral Question

Let me preface my answer with the statement that I work for a company that sells

bariatric supplements. This does not prevent me from providing accurate

information, but I think the reader should be aware of it when one competitor

talks about another competitor's product.

Problems with adequate iron and calcium intake are foreseeable by looking at the

ingredient list. VistaVitamins sell two forms of supplements. The chewable

tablets contain 18 mg of iron in iron amino acid chelate form, see

http://vistavitamins.com/suppfacts_chewablewellness.htm. (It is listed as

ferrous bis-glycinate chelate because the amino acid molecule used is

glycinate.) The capsule supplements contain only 8 mg of iron a day, see

http://vistavitamins.com/suppfacts_wellnessplus.htm No explanation is offered

why a person taking the chewable form needs more iron than the person taking the

capsule form. So, one form of the product provides only the bare minimum FDA

RDI of 18 mg of iron and the other provides less than 50% of the RDI. Even

given that iron amino acid chelates are better absorbed than other supplement

forms, see http://www.albionlabs.com/human/Newsletter/1996February.pdf, these

dosage amounts are a little skimpy for my taste. 50 mg of iron a day is usually

the minimum supplementation recommendation for WLS patients.

Both forms of the supplement contain only 300 mg of calcium. Even granting that

the amino acid chelate form is more absorbable, serious questions can be raised

about the adequacy of this low dosage.

Well, you asked for opinions on why you might be having iron and calcium

problems when taking this product. That is my $.02 on the issue.

Ray Hooks

For WLS nutrition info, visit

http://www.bariatricsupplementsystem.com

from WA wrote:

>

> I've been taking Vista Vitamins and have been doing fine with

> everything except iron and calcium. I take Chromagen Forte for iron

> which resolved my anemia problem. However, taking calcium citrate

> capsules has not improved my osteopenia so I'm wondering if liquid

> calcium citrate would be better? Also, what multi vitamin/mineral

> brands have you all had good luck with? I would have thought the

> bariatric vitamins I take would be preferable but my SIL who also had

> surgery is doing just fine by taking GNC gel tabs. These are much

> cheaper than my bariatric vitamins and her blood work is normal (she

> is 2 ½ years out). Any input would be greatly appreciated.

> in Washington

> Lap RNY Sept 2001, Dr. Wittgrove

> Minus 200.5 pounds

> 333.5/133

> http://www.wworw.com

>

> Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG

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