Tespo Liquid Bariatric Vitamins

Just happened upon this today, anyone seen or heard of it? If it works, might be great for bypass/DS patients with absorption issues:

https://gettespo.com

The last time I looked into the stats, they were woefully insufficient for our needs (based on the ASMBS recommendations).

And the fact that the bariatric supplement part has both the iron and calcium is a big ol' NOPE.

I don't know why so many vitamins combine iron and calcium. It don't make no sense!

Jen

If it's a hard tablet, the calcium is the binder -- the "glue" that holds it together.

Not sure about bypass but would be laughable for a DS'er

Not even close

It may work? I don't know. I would not be an early adopter though if it meant my health might be at risk.

There is no real evidence, though, that liquid vitamins are more absorbable than pill forms except for very specific situations. Probably what this does is increase user compliance. That is, if people just can drink a shot they will rather than taking pills. A confounding variable is that non-surgical patients, and people without GI disorders, eat enough food and absorb it so that their regular diet would mask any benefits that might be apparent. I went poking around for studies, particularly for the bariatric vitamins, but came up with zero. To be fair I didn't look too hard, but also bariatric and specific vitamin company formulations don't always have a lot of research. This is because 1) research is really pricey and also 2) only successful research in general is typically published. That is, if a study has a bad result, no one is obliged to publi****

Just going on the values: if you have a DS and use these you're basically crazy. If you have a longer RNY you are also equally ill-advised to use them. The shorter and standard RNY? Ehhhhhh. Maybe? The values are still low, and the RNY has iron absorption issues as it is. It's unwise to gamble. Liquid doesn't necessarily mean more absorbable, either, though.

The best way to absorb vitamins is to minimize malabsorption that is preventable, like taking the correct forms of vitamins (chelated or dry as needed) and not taking calcium and iron together, and taking calcium with other minerals/vitamins, and so on.

Sadly, a lot of gimmicks are around that purport improvement that is unsubstantiated. This may work? The lack of data unfortunately makes it hard to answer the question...and we need tested data and not "hey my labs were great" stories.

Well. I should say, there isn't overwhelming and convincing evidence liquid vitamins are more absorbed. If you have malabsorption, the malabsorption is typically going to be in effect regardless of liquid or pill form, because it's compound-specific. Any time the duodenum is eliminated from the food pathway, for instance, you absorb less iron. Any time you have a smaller stomach and the rest is removed, you will absorb less B12. You can take more to comepnsate, or use a non-oral route (nasal absorption is actually very good for B12), but anything oral will tend to be subject to the same mechanism preventing it from being absorbed.