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Written by Jack M Patterson

Many people suffering from morbid obesity, or have a body mass index of above 40 are at risk of developing, or have already developed, different kinds of degenerative diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. For these particular patients, doctors recommend that they undergo gastric bypass surgery to reduce their weight and improve their health and lifestyle.

But aside from the clear benefits the procedure offers those with morbid obesity, recent studies on the effects of the surgical procedure have shown that obese patients suffering from type 2 diabetes have experienced control of their blood sugar levels. Based on the study, there is a possibility that the bypass not only reduces the weight of a patient with type 2 diabetes, but also aids the patient in the treatment of the disease.

The gastric bypass procedure causes loss of weight because it limits the amount of food that fills the stomach and reduces the nutrients or calories that enter the bloodstream. In the procedure, the stomach is first divided into two parts: a small upper section and a large lower section. The smaller of the two is called a pouch and is where food passes through. After the sectioning, a bypass is made by reconnecting a small part of the small intestine to a hole made on the pouch. This shortens the length food travels through the small intestine, thus lessening the calories that are absorbed.

The rewiring of the stomach and the small intestine in a gastric bypass procedure has been observed by researchers to cause a side effect that affects diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a hormonal disorder that is marked by insulin resistance and insulin deficiency. By resisting insulin, muscle, fat, and liver cells cannot absorb glucose from the blood, which causes sugar levels to rise in the bloodstream.

According to researchers from Duke University Medical Center and Columbia University, participants in a study concerning diabetes experienced a lowered level of amino acids responsible for insulin resistance after undergoing gastric bypass surgery.

Furthermore, when food passes through the stomach, a gastrointestinal hormone called incretin is produced. This hormone travels via the bloodstream to the pancreas where it causes the production of insulin. The incretin production process is dampened when a person is afflicted with type 2 diabetes, but according to an earlier study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the procedure allows this defect to be partially repaired.

Based on these findings, those suffering from type 2 diabetes might have a chance of putting their disease in remission by undergoing gastric bypass surgery. Still, patients are advised to follow a strict dietary plan to manage their condition and consult their doctors on how the surgery can affect them before considering the surgery as treatment for their disease.

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The Barix Clinics® network of hospitals has provided patients with comprehensive bariatric care for more than 20 years. Its bariatric surgeons are highly experienced in minimally invasive methods for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, lap band, and gastric sleeve surgeries. To learn more about weight loss surgery and its benefits, visit BarixClinics.com or call 1-800-282-0066.