Is BA chewbale iron gluten free?
Bariatric Advantage chewable iron products are gluten free.

How much iron should I take each day?
The RDA for iron is 8mg for men and 18mg for women. Iron deficiency can occur after weight loss surgery, and your doctor probably checks your levels with your regular blood work. If you need more iron, your doctor should let you know. Since iron can be toxic, you should not take more than your doctor has advised.

Can I take calcium with my multivitamin?
You can take calcium together with your multivitamin. If, however, you rely on your multivitamin for iron, you may want to try to separate them by a couple of hours.

Is there an issue w/Iron & Calcium competition in VitaBand?
The competition between Iron and Calcium is much more of a concern with the gastric-bypass patient due to the malabsorption properties of the procedure. Because malabsorption is not generally a concern with the adjustable gastric-banding procedure, the patient has a much greater ability to absorb the Iron and Calcium when taken together. The Calcium and Iron are included in the VitaBand Multi-Formula to assist the patient in reaching their recommended daily value as advised by their physician/program. We offer additional Iron and Calcium supplements to assist the patient in reaching their recommended daily value.

What is Ferronyl® Carbonyl iron?
Ferronyl® carbonyl iron powder is elemental iron (Fe) with > 98% iron content. A key physical property of Ferronyl is its fine particle size (5 µm) which is considerably smaller than the 10-100 µm of other forms of elemental iron (e.g., reduced, electrolytic and atomized). As a result, Ferronyl has higher human bioavailability than these other forms. The net absorption per unit dose of Ferronyl is also greater than that of any of the currently used ferrous (Fe2+) salts (Fe2+ sulfate, Fe2+ fumarate, Fe2+ gluconate, etc.). While the latter may have a higher relative biological availability than elemental iron, their iron content is only 12 - 32% of Ferronyl.

If my iron gets sticky is that OK?
Your iron is still fine if it gets sticky. This can happen if it gets exposed to too much moisture or humidity. To minimize this, keep the cotton and the dessiccant (the little "pillow") in the bottle, and store it in a cool, dry location.

Amount of iron in a pre-natal (prenatal) vitamin
The RDA for iron in pregnancy is 27mg. Most pre-natal vitamins provide between 27 and 60 milligrams of iron per day. This is 1 to 2 of the Bariatric Advantage Passion Fruit Iron or 2 to 3 of the Strawberry Iron.

Can I take my iron with other vitamins and minerals?
Iron can interfere with other nutrients. The most important nutrient that it competes with is calcium. Taking iron with calcium supplements or with high calcium foods can reduce the amount of iron you absorb. The amount of calcium in a multivitamin is usually not a problem. If you are taking high doses of iron (for example to treat an anemia), then you may need to worry about iron depleting other minerals like zinc and copper. Your doctor or dietitian should be able to tell you if this is a concern.

Do your products contain any allergens?
I would like everyone to take a look at the case below. We invest a lot of time and money in our labels and making sure that they conform to the latest FDA requirements for dietary supplements. Part of the labeling requirements since 2005 has been the meticulous disclosure of allergens in our products. The allergens that must be disclosed BY LAW are any component or derivative of any of eight allergenic foods: milk; eggs; fish such as bass, flounder, and cod; crustacean shellfish such as crab, lobster, and shrimp; tree nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and pecans; peanuts; wheat; and soybeans. The law also identifies as a major food allergen any ingredient that contains protein derived from any of these eight foods. We have some dairy ingredients (whey protein in our meal replacements), a couple of soy ingredients, and one fish-derived ingredient. These are clearly disclosed in the allergen warning which is on the left panel of our labels (when you look at the front of the bottle the part to the left of the product name). Please remember that if any of you are talking to people with allergies to either review the label with them or ask them to read it. In general, customers don’t look a the more than the name of the product – that is how we end up with a highly allergic customer taking a product with an ingredient to which she is allergic.

How much iron is in ferrous sulfate 325?
Ferous sulfate 325 can come as a couple of different preparations. Some contain 55mg of elemental iron, others contain 65mg of elemental iron. In general, if someone wants to take Bariatric Advantage iron instead of Ferrous sulfate they will need either 2 of the Passion Fruit or 3 of the Strawberry for each Ferrous sulfate tablet.

How much iron is in Ferrous Gluconate 324?
One tablet of Ferrous Gluconate 324 contains 37.5mg of elemental iron. Someone wishing to take BA iron could most easily accomplish this with 2 18mg strawberry iron tablets.

How can I stop my iron from melting, or discoloring
The Iron tablets take on moisture from the atmosphere very rapidly – so they usually cannot be placed in a standard pill box for more than a brief period of time. 

The driest place for them is in the purchased bottle with the desiccant packet (the packet that actually sucks moisture out of the bottle). It is not wise to leave the pills out to dry as they will take on water right from the air and melt more quickly. If you need to put the iron in a pill box, you will need to have a drying agent in the pill box.

Water Miscible, Water Soluble, and Dry.
The fat-soluble vitamins A, E, D and K are typically found in oil preparations. This is because in their natural states, they are oily substances that disperse or dissolve well in a fat such as soybean oil.

In some situations, such as when compressing a tablet or providing nutrition to a person who malabsorbs fat, it is advantageous to use a form of a fat-soluble that is designed to either dissolve or disperse in water.
These preparations give several advantages:

• They are more stable than the oil-soluble compounds.
• They are free-flowing and can be used as a powder or compressed in a tablet.
• They do not have to be emulsified by bile so that they can be more easily absorbed by those who have impaired fat digestion and absorption.

We sometimes call these preparations “dry� because they are in a powder form versus a “wet� oil. They are also referred to as water-miscible or cold water-soluble (CWS).

The most common preparation for water-miscible, fat-soluble vitamins is some form of microencapsulation. This is the enrobing of extremely fine particles of the vitamin and is a water-soluble matrix such as acaciamat it using the toolbar.

Iron, B12 and Folate after Sleeve Gastrectomy
A new study has shown that there is a risk of B12 and folate deficiency, and a lesser risk of iron deficiency one year after vertical sleeve gastrectomy. 151 patients who underwent the vertical sleeve gastrectomy procedure in Saudia Arabia, had their labs followed for one year. The incidence of B12 deficiency increased from 8.1% pre-operatively to 26.2% post-operatively. Folate deficiency developed in 9.8% of patients and iron deficiency developed in 4.9% of patients. These findings suggest that vertical sleeve gastrectomy patients are at nutritional risk based on their procedure and should be monitored for deficiency after surgery.

Hakaem HA, O’Regan PJ, Salem AM, Bamehriz FY, Eldali AM. Impact of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy on Iron Indices: 1 Year Follow-Up. Obes Surg. 2009 Jul 15.

Should vitamins be taken with food?
Generally, it is best to take vitamins with food.  This is not only because it is easier on the stomach, but also because we were designed to absorb nutrition from our food. 

For this reason, almost all nutrients that we would put into a vitamin are better absorbed when taken with food.  This is sort of like tricking the body into thinking the vitamins are still in the food and not in a pill.  For some nutrients this makes a BIG difference.  For example, taken with food, vitamin E is 5 times better absorbed than when taken alone in a pill. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that if we are talking about iron, it shouldn't be taken with a dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc).  You can improve the absorption of iron if taken with some sort of meat or a vitamin C containing food such as fruit.

Are Bariatric Advantage products Only for a Bariatric patient?
Our products are specifically designed with the bariatric surgery patient in mind, however many would be fine for those who have not had surgery. It is always best to talk to a qualified health professional before starting any new nutritional product, especially if you have a health concern.