Bariatric Surgery Success

Jenna asked, “Does the tea I drink need to be decaf?” And Shelly wants to know, “When can I start drinking diet soda again?” Today, we’ll answer your burning questions.

Hi, I’m registered dietitian nutritionist Dr. Susan Mitchell. You’re listening to the Bariatric Surgery Success podcast episode number 46. Most of my career I’ve worked in some type of media, particularly radio where I did morning drive nutrition spots for over 18 years. That’s what lead me to start podcasting and ultimately to you. I created Bariatric Surgery Success to provide you with life-changing information based on science along with simple strategies and tools to help you be successful in your transformation and your entire journey. So happy you’ve connected with me. You’re in the right place and I’m glad you’re listening.

I want to give a shout out and say thank you this week to Christine for her comment on Facebook. She said: “I love this podcast, it’s quick yet packed full of information.” Christine, my goal is to not waste your time and get right to it with information you can use. Glad you like the short format too.

This week joining me on the podcast is bariatric dietitian Isabel Maples. If you’re in the private facebook group, you may have seen her comments as she shares her expertise. Isabel is a registered dietitian and bariatric coordinator with Fauquier Health in Warrenton Virginia. She helps her patients navigate the weight loss surgery process to maximize success. Her focus is on making food fun again by relearning body cues for hunger/satiety, taming trigger foods, and discovering the joy of movement.

Welcome Isabel! Thanks for joining me today.

Thanks so much for joining me today Isabel. And remember, take care of yourself. You’re worth it!

Does pea protein contain the nine essential amino acids? And if so, is this a good source of protein after bariatric surgery? Let’s look closely at popular pea protein.

Hi, I’m registered dietitian nutritionist Dr. Susan Mitchell. You’re listening to the Bariatric Surgery Success podcast episode number 48. Most of my career I’ve worked in some type of media, particularly radio where I did morning drive nutrition spots for over 18 years. That’s what lead me to start podcasting and ultimately to you. I created Bariatric Surgery Success to provide you with life-changing information based on science along with simple strategies and tools to help you be successful in your transformation and your entire journey. So happy you’ve connected with me. You’re in the right place and I’m glad you’re listening.

If you haven’t joined me in the private Facebook group yet, what are you waiting for? It’s called Bariatric Surgery Success with Dr. Susan Mitchell. There is good conversation happening in there. Lots of questions and feedback going on.

With so many protein supplements on the market, how do you know what to choose? Plus you’ve had bariatric surgery so do all protein supplements provide what your body needs to thrive?

Recently in our private Facebook group, someone asked if pea protein contains the nine essential amino acids and if so, is this a good source of protein after bariatric surgery. In this podcast, I’m not covering vegetarian or vegan diets as they’re more difficult to follow after surgery due to the limits on carbs and calories. After bariatric surgery, the big focus is and continues to be on protein, high quality protein which comes from animals or soy. So let’s talk a minute about whey protein. In a whey protein powder for example, it's typically just whey protein and not a lot of other added items you probably don’t need. Plus whey protein tends to contain a few more grams of protein per serving than pea protein. It’s a complete protein with the correct proportions of those nine essential amino acids needed by the body. It isn’t missing or low in any one of the nine. Essential amino acid means that it cannot be made by your body and must be taken in thru food. You probably know of amino acids for their role in making and repairing muscle. But these aminos do a lot more in the body from hormone production and the absorption of calcium to roles in immune function, sleep-wake cycles and sexual function.

Science 101 today: One of the reasons why animal protein which includes whey protein works so well after bariatric surgery is that it has a high protein digestibility corrected amino acid score known as the PDCAA. Basically it measures protein quality. Why does that matter to you? The highest PDCAA score is 100. Milk (whey/casein), eggs, and soy all have a score of 100 and are all complete proteins. Also important is the quantity of leucine found in protein. It’s one of the nine essential amino acids which helps maintain lean tissue and the amount varies widely in products. Animal products including whey protein and soy products are very good sources of leucine.

Let’s look at pea protein closer. What exactly is it? Pea protein powders or supplements are made by extracting protein from yellow peas making it naturally vegan and also gluten-free and dairy free. Both whey and pea proteins are relatively low in carbs, fat, fiber, and sugar when nothing else is added to it. Plus pea doesn’t contain any of the top food allergens such as fish, shellfish, eggs, and soy. So it’s very popular with those following a vegetarian or vegan way of life. It’s also a good source of iron from the peas. Pea protein powder is good quality and works for many people but not as well as animal protein specifically in the case of bariatric surgery. It's does contain the nine essential amino acids but here is where we dig a bit deeper. Quality matters. A product may have all nine of the essential amino acids but be limiting in one or more. This means that the level is not high enough to meet the body’s requirement. Pea protein has a limiting amino acid or one in a very low amount which is methionine. You can add methionine to the diet by eating foods such as brown rice, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Here’s where the issue is specific to weight loss surgery. Some pea protein powders contain just pea protein. Then brown rice or seeds need to be added to the diet to boost the methionine level. What happens, the carb and fat grams get a boost up too. Other products add sunflower or pumpkins seeds directly to the pea powder which then affects the total calories along with carb and fat grams in a serving of that powder. This addition often pushes up the total carb level in a serving of pea protein powder to around eight grams compared to one or two in whey protein. I wo...

Resources From Today's Episode:

Bariatric Surgery Success with Dr. Susan Mitchell Private Facebook Group

FREEBIE: 5 Tips to Packing in Protein

Free Samples: ProCare Health FREE Samples

Podcasts Mentioned:

#31 Does Protein Help Prevent Weight Regain?

#29 Should You Go Keto after Bariatric Surgery?

#48 Is Pea Protein a Smart Choice After Bariatric Surgery?

Protein, protein, protein! Do you feel like your head may explode if you hear that word one more time? I bet you do, for I admit, I talk about it a lot as do most dietitians. There are so many protein powders on the market...egg, soy, whey, pea, collagen. Which is the best one for you after surgery?

There are days when no matter what you do, you can’t consume enough protein thru food, right? Maybe it’s a bad day and you’re just not feeling well. Maybe your day was interrupted unexpectedly and the meal plans you had just didn’t work out. Protein powder is an excellent way to help hit your daily protein target when eating enough protein thru food is just not happening.

Let’s take a quick look at the most common ones. Soy, eggs, whey, and casein are all complete proteins with a high PDCAA score. The highest score is 100 which all of these have. If you’ve listened to some of the other podcasts where I’m talking about protein, you may recall that PDCAA means Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid score which measures quality of protein. A complete protein contains all nine essential amino acids. It isn’t missing, or low in any one of the nine. Essential amino acid means that it cannot be made by your body and must be taken in thru food.

Soy protein, made from ground soybeans is a quality complete protein. It’s a good choice if you prefer a plant based protein. Soy, egg, whey and casein all taste a little different so it comes down to your personal preference.

Egg protein comes from the egg white or albumen. It’s also a high quality complete protein and is popular with people who can’t have dairy or just want to change it up.

I’m going to spend most of our time together on whey protein powder as it’s so popular. It’s often called the gold standard of protein powders. But remember what we just said...egg and soy protein as equally as good just not as popular.

The protein in milk is 80% casein and 20% whey. Whey is a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids and is digested faster than casein. Just like egg or soy protein powder, it isn’t missing or low in any one of the nine essential amino acids.

Science 101 for this week. Whey powder comes in several forms: whey concentrates, whey isolates and whey hydrolysates. In whey concentrate the water has been removed but the remaining product usually still contains lactose, fat and cholesterol which are naturally found in whey. Whey protein isolates usually have a little more protein but less of lactose, fat and cholesterol than whey concentrates. Whey hydrolysates are pre-digested and assimilate into the body more quickly. Isolates and hydrolysates are typically more costly due to processing.

Most containers just say whey protein on the front. How do you know what’s what? Look at the ingredient label. The ingredients go in descending order most to least. The first words should be whey protein concentrate or whey protein isolate, the two most common forms. It’s up to you which you purchase.

Because whey comes from milk, anyone who is truly allergic to milk proteins should avoid whey. A milk allergy is not the same as lactose intolerance. They’re two different things. Because the lactose level is low in whey concentrate and lower in whey isolate, they often work for lactose intolerance.

Casein is also a complete protein in milk. Studies suggest that since casein is absorbed more slowly than whey and releases amino acids over time, it may be beneficial to consume before bed. This will supply protein through the night. A combination of whey and casein works well too.

Make sure your whey protein doesn’t have a lot of other added ingredients that you probably don’t need, like herbs, coffee or guarana, and particularly vitamins and minerals which typically are not added in the amounts specific to bariatric surgery. Generally the fewer ingredients the lower the cost too.