The Importance of Multivitamins After Surgery
It is very important that you take multivitamins every day not just in the first year after surgery but every
day indefinitely and have your nutritional labs checked every year around the anniversary of your
surgery. If you choose not to come to the Weight Center for yearly visits; please make sure you
primary care doctor has a list of the vitamins that should be monitored yearly after weight loss
surgery.
The list of Multivitamins on the next page is not inclusive, but provides the names of some brands that
contain the minimum level of nutrients required by anyone who has had a Sleeve or a Bypass. Vitamin
supplements vary; if you are unsure if your multivitamin contains all of the nutrients you need after weight
loss surgery, you can review them with your Weight Center dietitian.
In this section, the “Resources” of your Weight Center binder, you have a list of some nutrients that may
not be absorbed well after weight loss surgery. Included in this section is a list of foods that are
considered to be a good source of these nutrients. Incorporating nutrient dense foods is an important part
of a healthy diet.
Important Note: We recommend chewable or liquid vitamins. However, if you cannot tolerate these,
you may switch to a tablet form one month after the Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery or three months
after the Gastric Bypass surgery.
Please keep your post-surgery appointment to monitor your nutritional labs at 6 months and every
year around the anniversary or your surgery. Your Weight Center dietitian will use our lab results to
help you adjust you supplement needs.
Multivitamin Supplementation for Patients after Weight Loss Surgery
The type of multivitamin that you purchase is important. It is essential that the
multivitamin include the following vitamins and minerals in a quantity that meets the
RDA for men and women. The RDA or, Recommended Daily Allowance, are amounts
established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Science as
adequate to meet the average daily nutritional needs of most healthy individuals. Below
is a table that outlines the RDA for the specific nutrients that you need to supplement
after having a gastric sleeve or gastric bypass.
TABLE 1
RDA for males
RDA for females
Vit K
(mcg)
Biotin
(mcg)
Zinc
(mg)
Thiamin
(mg)
B12
(mg)
Folic Acid
(mcg)
Iron
(mg)
Copper
(mg)
120
90
30
30
11
8
1.2
1.1
2.4
2.4
400
400
8
18
0.7
0.7
 What Multivitamin should I buy if I want to switch to a tablet form?
TABLE 2: Shop from the following list of multivitamins: if you purchase another
type of multivitamin, check the label to make sure it contains the minimum RDA
for the nutrients listed in Table 1.

Centrum** Adults Under 50

One-A-Day Women’s Formula

Walgreens A thru Z Advanced Formula (NOT Select)

Rite Aid Central-Vite Multivitamin/ Mineral

Rite Aid One Daily Maximum

Rite Aid Central-Vite Performance

CVS Daily Multiple plus Minerals USP

CVS Daily Multiple for Women USP

Nature Made Multi Complete with Iron

365 Adult Multi with Iron (Whole Foods)

Celebrate Multi-Complete

Celebrate Multi-AGB

Celebrate Multi-Well
Taking Supplements
Vitamin and mineral supplements are recommended when an individual cannot or does not get
the total recommended amount in their diet alone. Since weight loss surgery, whether it is the
Sleeve Gastrectomy or the Gastric Bypass, may decrease the amount of vitamins and minerals
from your food that are absorbed in your digestive tract, taking supplements is a way to ensure
that you do not develop a deficiency. See the Table in this section of the vitamins and minerals
that may not be absorbed as well after weight loss surgery, why the body needs them, signs of
deficiencies and food sources.
Calcium and Vitamin D
The Tables on the next couple of pages list some of the Calcium and Vitamin D brand name
supplements that meet the needs of patients after bariatric surgery. These lists are not all
inclusive but are provided to take away the burden of trying to figure out what to buy. Most
supplements can be purchased in your local stores over the counter.
The important thing to note about Calcium and Vitamin D supplements is that you only need to
supplement what you are not getting from your diet to meet the recommended daily allowance
for calcium: 1,200 mg a day for men and premenopausal women; 1,500 mg a day for postmenopausal women.
The total amount of Vitamin D recommended daily after weight loss surgery is 3,000 IU;
therefore, the Vitamin D supplement only needs to have enough Vitamin D that when added to
the amount in your multivitamin and in your calcium supplement supplements adds up to 3,000
I.U. (International Units) a day.
SUPPLEMENTING CALCIUM
PLEASE NOTE: The recommended daily intake for calcium includes the amount
of calcium you eat in your diet through food PLUS the amount you supplement:
Recommended 'total' daily intake of Calcium
 for Males and pre-menopausal Women – 1200 mg Calcium
 for post-menopausal Women – 1500 mg Calcium
Amount of Calcium in Food and Beverages:
 8 ounces of milk, yogurt or orange juice fortified with calcium contains about 300 mg of calcium
 8 ounces of fortified soy, almond or rice milk: read the label; look at serving size then look at
calcium content
 1 cup tofu — 516 milligrams
 1 cup cooked collard greens — 358 milligrams
 1 1/2 cups calcium-fortified oatmeal — 326 milligrams
 10 medium figs — 270 milligrams
 1 cup cooked spinach — 244 milligrams
Try to estimate how much calcium you get in your diet and then use supplements to get the total
Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA); there is some data that shows 'over' supplementing calcium
may have a negative effect on health, calcium supplements should always contain vitamin D. It is
also important to remember, doing weight bearing exercise is also very important to maintain strong
bones.
Types of Calcium Citrate Supplements:
 Citrical - Maximum
 Citrical – Petites
 Citrical Plus Magnesium
 Citracal Calcium +D3 Gummies
 Walgreens Calcium Citrate + D
 Puritan’s Pride - Calcium Citrate with Vitamin D3
 Puritan’s Pride – Calcium Citrate Miniatures
 Now – Calcium Citrate
 Spring Valley – Calcium Citrate
 Equate – Calcium Citrate + D3
 Citrical Plus Bone Density Builder
 Creamy Bites (Chocolate Fudge) celebratevitamins.com ShopCalcium
 Calcium PLUS 500 Chewable: celebratevitamins.com ShopCalcium
 Vita-Cost Calcium Citrate
 Twin Lab – Calcium Citrate
 Opurity Calcium Citrate Plus
 Life Time Liquid Calcium Magnesium Citrate (Natural Blueberry)
 Life Time Liquid Calcium Magnesium Citrate (Natural Lemon Custard, Natural Orange Vanilla,
Natural Strawberry, and Grape)
 GNC Tropical Oasis Liquid Calcium Magnesium
Types of Calcium Carbonate Supplements:
 Viactive Chewable Calcium with Vitamin D
 CVS Spectravite Calcium
 Caltrate chewable or tablet form
Vitamin D Supplements
A total of 3,000 I.U. of Vitamin D3 is recommended for all individuals who have had the
Sleeve Gastrectomy or the Gastric Bypass –The 3,000 IU includes the total amount in
your multivitamin, your calcium supplement and your Vitamin D supplement added together.
Where Available
Vitamin D TABLETS
Online
Vitacost.com or
amazon.com
Product
MRM Vegan Vitamin D3
Veg Capsules
Vitamin D per Unit
(IU)
2500
Amount per day
1 Capsule
Olympian Labs Vitamin
D3
3000
1 Capsule
Nature's Plus Vitamin D
Softgels
2500
1 Softgel
Jarrow Formulas Vitamin
D3
2500
1 Softgel
Country Life Vitamin D3
2500
1 Softgel
Walgreens
Healthy Origins Vitamin
D3
2400
1 Softgel
GNC or Online (luckyvitamin.com,
iherb.com, or vitacost.com)
Super Nutrition Vitamin
D3 tablets
Walgreens
Vitamin Shoppe
Or Online
(natureplus.com or
vitacost.com)
Vitamin Shoppe, Walgreens, or
Online (jarrow.com, amazon.com
or vitacost.com)
GNC or Online (iherb.com,
vitacost.com or amazon.com)
Vitamin D CHEWABLE
Online
(amazon.com, luckyvitamin.com,
or vitacost.com)
Online
(naturalhealthyconcepts.com,
amazon.com, vitacost.com, or
luckyvitamin.com)
Thompson, Vitamin D3
Lemon Chewable Tablets
EuroPharma (Terry
Naturally) Vitamin D3
Chewable
2500
2500
2500
1 Tablet
1 Chewable Tablet
1 Chewable Tablet
VITAMIN D GUMMIES (do not purchase multivitamin gummies but gummy form of Vitamin D is fine
GNC, Whole Foods, Wal-Mart
Target or Online
(naturemade.com)
Rainbow Light Nutritional
Systems Berry D-Licious
Gummies
Nature Made Vitamin D
Adult Gummies
2500
1 Gummy
2000
2 Gummies