There has recently been a little controversy surrounding gastric bypass surgery, if it is better than dieting alone or it has negative long term effects. However a report this week announces more understanding how gastric bypass affects metabolism and can potentially influence treatments for type 2 diabetes, a global epidemic strongly linked with obesity and lack of exercise. In fact, new drugs are being researched that may even trigger the same affect of the surgery without the actual procedure.
Researchers studied two small groups of severely obese diabetic patients who either had gastric bypass surgery or went on strict diets. They found that unlike dieting, gastric bypass changes a person’s metabolism by significantly reducing levels of circulating amino acids and compounds linked with obesity, diabetes and insulin resistance.
Christopher Newgard of Duke, who worked on the study, explains:
“What we were trying to do is cast a very wide net. What we caught is a very clear difference between bariatric surgery and dietary intervention. These (subjects) dropped much more precipitously in people having bariatric surgery than people having the dietary intervention.”
Newgard added that patients in the surgery group had lower levels of molecules known as branch chain amino acids. The essential branched chain amino acids (BCAA’s) include leucine, isoleucine, and valine are of special importance for athletes because they are metabolized in the muscle, rather than in the liver. Theoretically, after digestion once protein is broken down into individual amino acids these amino acids can either be used to build new proteins or be burned as fuel to produce energy.
Although there may be slight contradictions in pre-existing research regarding BCAA supplementation there is enough positive scientific evidence to warrant its usage in high performance athletes.
From numerous studies it is clear that BCAA’s have a significant role in increasing overall conditioning factors such as aerobic and anaerobic capacities, by improving physiological markers such as: red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum albumin, fasting glucose levels, a decrease in creatine phophokinase, increased glycogenesis, and even rapid alleviation of muscle inflammation.
Other positive attributes associated with BCAA’s as shown by current scientific literature includes: increased muscle recovery especially after intense eccentric exercise, alleviation of short term decrements in performance commonly associated with overreaching, improvements in plasma levels of BCAA’s (often linked with fatigue), and may aid in the healing of injuries, sickness, and trauma. There may also be strength and muscle mass increases accompanied by BCAA supplementation. However, further research is needed to determine whether this is a direct or indirect effect of BCAA supplementation.
People in the gastric bypass arm of the study underwent a surgery known as Roux-en-Y, in which doctors surgically reduce the size of the stomach to prevent people from eating too. Newgard said it is not clear why reducing stomach size might have this effect, but it is clear that bariatric surgery results in significant metabolic changes.
Newgard also said the results might not apply to Allergan’s Lap-Band weight-loss device, in which doctors insert an adjustable silicone band around the upper part of the stomach but do not surgically reduce the size of the stomach.
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Written by Sy Kraft