People choose to have bariatric surgery as a tool to help them achieve a healthy weight. Many of us are aware that having bariatric surgery reduces the volume of food that you are able to eat, which in turn reduces the number of calories you consume, resulting in weight loss. However, although people are aware of the changes that bariatric surgery can have on the way your body processes food, they are likely unaware of the effects that it can have on your desire to eat and even the taste of food.
Patients who had gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy operations often report changes to their actual desire to eat. Incessant cravings and urges to eat that they had before surgery almost completely vanish. Others report that their actual taste of food even changed following surgery.
Sugar – As a post gastric bypass patient, you will be aware that if you consume too much sugar you will rapidly become sick and potentially vomit, as your body can no longer tolerate such high levels of sugar directly entering your system. But did you notice that your taste for sugar has been amplified as a result of the operation? Experimental data reports that patients following surgery are more sensitive to the taste of sweet food due to the receptors on their tongues detecting smaller amounts of sucrose.
Taste of Food – Often patients report that following bariatric surgery their original cravings for ‘bad food’ seem to disappear, and that food no longer tastes the same as it did before. If your favourite pizza or bar of chocolate doesn’t taste as good as you remember, but that plate of healthy salad tastes divine, which one are you most likely to eat regularly? Although there is currently little data to support that bariatric surgery has a direct effect on your desire to eat and taste, it is widely reported amongst doctors and patients alike.
Using rats as an example…
In a way towards proving this theory, a study was conducted using lab rats. Put simply:
Group A – these rats were given a sleeve gastrectomy (the same method/operation a human would be given). This group lost most of their excess weight following the operation and stabilised at a lower weight.
Group B – these rats had a ‘sham surgery’, in that they were opened up and closed up without any actual change to their digestive anatomy.
Each group of rats was then put on a diet, and both groups lost weight. Three weeks later both groups of rats were then given as much food as they wanted.
Interestingly those rats that had the ‘sham surgery’ (Group B) ate until they were back to their original weight. However, Group A, who had the sleeve gastrectomy surgery, only ate until they reached their post-surgery weight.
This experiment with rats demonstrates the overall effect that surgery can have on your desire to eat. This again is reported by humans time after time, that they no longer crave the foods they previously did, even though they are able to eat them now. Reporting that foods such as pizza or burgers are “too heavy” or “too greasy”.
When considering bariatric surgery as a way to lose excess weight and move towards a healthier lifestyle this is definitely information that should be taken into account. As not only are you going to be equipped with a lower tolerance for high volumes of food, but the types of food you crave may change as well as your taste for food that is ‘bad’ for you. This winning combination demonstrates why weight loss surgery is a proven tool for long term results for post operatively.
If you would like to know more information about the types of bariatric surgery available or if you want to know if you are a candidate for surgery, then please contact our clinic on 02 9553 1120 to make an appointment or enquire online.
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