We tend to use the term gastric bypass surgery somewhat loosely handle these days and include both true bypass operations such as Roux-en-Y and popular and less radical forms of surgery such as weight loss gastric band. Although both have a role in healing the problem play of obesity, bypass surgery full benefit takes from the body to affect weight loss and to understand how gastric bypass surgery, it does need to have a basic understanding of the digestive system.
The process of digestion begins when you eat, when, as you start chewing your food in the mouth, saliva, the digestive enzyme amylase contains, is mixed with the food and begins to break carbohydrates. Although they do not seem to be an important part of the digestive system, the salivary glands produce about 40% of amylase needed to digest and so chew your food properly is an essential part of the process.
The food is then passed through the esophagus and the stomach, where muscle contractions mix the food that the digestive juices and pepsin are added. In adults, the stomach normally contains the equivalent of about 3 liters.
Once blended food is from the lower end of the stomach through the pylorus, a circular muscle that opens and closes rhythmically passed to the flow of food from the stomach control.
After leaving the stomach the food in the duodenum, which is about two meters long and the first of three sections, which together the small intestine. Here, two other organs of the body come into play – the liver and pancreas.
The pass liver bile, which is used a key enzyme in the digestion of fats in the duodenum, and also receives important nutrients in the duodenum known by a number of veins of the portal vein. The liver is also responsible for the processing of food.
The pancreas, which is known primarily as a body responsible for the production of insulin, also produces a number of digestive enzymes including lipase, which are mixed with bile in the duodenum continues to worsen fat.
Once the food was with various digestive enzymes into the duodenum it enters the jejunum, which is about 6-8 meters long, then in the ileum, the mixed 10-12 meters long, where digestion continues and nutrients are extracted.
Once the digestion is complete, the remaining waste in the colon, which plays an important role in the absorption of water, passed to prevent excessive water loss. The waste is then held in the large intestine until they are released from the body.
Gastric bypass, bypassing part of the small bowl (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) restricts the body absorb calories from food that is eaten, which in turn leads to weight loss. However, it also limits the absorption of a variety of vitamins and minerals, which explains the need for supplements to the whole of life after surgery.
