How the Brain Responds to Food After Gastric Bypass Surgery

Gastric Bypass Surgery patients lose more weight over the long them than those who have undergone gastric band operations.

A recent study found that obese patients who’ve had gastric bypass surgery experience changes in their brain which affect how the brain itself responds to food.  The Medical Research Council (MRC) found that this procedure reduces not only hunger, but the drive to eat for pleasure.

This was not found to be true of patients who have undergone gastric banding operations.  Therefore over the long run, gastric bypass patients lose more Gastric Bypass eat lessweight.  The research was published in the journal Gut and the theory is that physical changes made to the gut during surgery somehow have an effect on the drive to eat for pleasure.

Dr. Tony Goldstone from the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre at Imperial College London and consultant endocrinologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust said that  “Both procedures reduce appetite and have health benefits including long-term weight loss and improvement or even complete resolution of type 2 diabetes. However, gastric bypass surgery appears to be more effective for weight loss and has a more profound effect on the way in which the brain responds to food.”

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was used to measure brain activity by scientists from Imperial College London, UK.  They studied 61 men and women who had lost weight using either one of these surgical methods.  21 people had gastric bypass and 20 people had gastric band surgery.  They used a control group of 20 people who had no surgery.

Patients who had gastric bypass surgery had less activity in brain’s reward centers when shown pictures of food, compared with those who had gastric banding surgery.  Gastric bypass patients also rated high-calorie foods as less appealing and as a result ate less fat in their diet than patients having gastric banding surgery or people in the control group.

However compared to the un-operated control group, both groups that had surgery had similarly reduced hunger and seemed unrelated to their psychological traits.

Researchers could not determine what caused these changes in brain activity, but did see differences in the patients’ metabolism which might be a factor.  The gut hormones that make us feel full after a meal were higher in the gastric bypass patients.  Levels of bile, which pay a role in digestion were also higher.

Another factor that was observed was that patients with gastric bypass surgery were physically uncomfortable, even nauseous after eating foods high in sugar and fat.  So this of course influenced their eating habits.

Dr. Goldstone concluded that “These findings emphasize that different bariatric procedures work in different ways to influence eating behavior,” added Goldstone. “This may have important implications for the way we treat patients with obesity and could help pave the way for a more personalized approach when deciding on the choice of bariatric procedure by taking the impact on food preferences and cravings into account.”

 

 

 

 

 

Type II Diabetes Cure: Bariatric Surgery

Looking for a Type II Diabetes Cure? Many health conferences are starting to talk about the ability of bariatric surgery to improve the symptoms of and cure type II diabetes. For years, it has been known that people who undergo bariatric surgery often seen an improvement in their diabetes long before they start seeing weight loss results. If you have type II diabetes you may want to consider bariatric surgery as a way to improve and cure your diabetes.

Consider some more information about the procedure before you decide to talk with your doctor about undergoing the procedure since all surgical procedures should be carefully considered.

Is Bariatric Surgery Really the Answer for Type II Diabetes Cure?

Much talk can be found online about bariatric surgery as a cure for type II diabetes. In fact, some medical studies have bariatric surgery for type II diabeteseven shown the benefit of bariatric surgery in treating or at the least reducing the symptoms of type II diabetes. Perhaps the best news comes from two new studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine. These new tests were done from a random group of people that compared people with bariatric surgery versus those who received conventional or intense medical treatment for their type II diabetes. Before this, there was no definitive test about the effects of bariatric surgery and type II diabetes.

These two new studies were done in Italy and had the goal of dropping a type II diabetes patient A1C to under 7 after 2 years of treatment. Those who didn’t undergo bariatric surgery underwent lifestyle changes such as a low-fat diet and increased exercise based on the American Diabetes Association guidelines. Both of these studies showed that those who underwent bariatric surgery had lower BMIs, lower A1C’s and other health benefits such as lower blood pressure and lipid levels than those who didn’t undergo the surgery.

In addition, these benefits came from the surgery itself and not from any medication help. This is what many doctors and the press are talking about when it comes to bariatric surgeries ability to be the type II diabetes cure.

While these studies show good results from people with type II diabetes that undergo bariatric surgery. It is important to also keep in mind that people who don’t undergo surgery also see improvements in their type II diabetes with rigorous medical treatments. So it is important to carefully look into bariatric surgery and see if it is right for you. Often if you aren’t obese, a doctor won’t recommend this type of surgery just to help with type II diabetes. However, if you are both obese and suffering from type II diabetes it may be reasonable to talk with your doctor about the benefits of undergoing bariatric surgery.

After undergoing the procedure you need to be prepared to deal with a lifetime of nutritional and dietary changes that must be rigorously followed in order to avoid complications. You will need to be vigilant about taking additional supplements to avoid malnutrition. Tracking your nutritional status is important.

Bariatric surgery is certainly an option for people who are looking for a long term type II diabetes cure. You should carefully consider the information above and talk with your doctor to make sure bariatric surgery is right for you. You may want to schedule a free information session that most bariatric practices offer, so the surgeon can help answer any questions you may have about the procedure.