Expert: Jacqueline Jacques, ND - 6/27/2011

Question
I'm 2 yrs out and I was wondering how drinking pop and alcohol affects your pouch?

Answer
Hi Melissa,

Contrary to popular belief, what you eat is not going to really do much to change or damage your pouch at this point.

That said, alcohol and soda are not good choices for a gastric bypass patient.

Alcohol - will be absorbed more rapidly and have stronger effects after surgery as compared to before.  It is also being documented that new onset alcoholism rates in gastric bypass patients are rather higher than in the general population.  Finally, the calories are very high - almost as high as a fat.  Calorically, you can think of alcohol like drinking cooking oil.  However, metabolically it acts more like a sugar. So it's really easy for people to gain weight if they drink regularly.  Think of alcohol as something to do in small amounts, on an occasional basis only.  Not as part of your diet.

Soda - soda is basically just empty calories.  All empty liquid calories are a bad idea if you want to maintain your weight loss.  The acidic nature of soda can also contribute to ulcer formation (a risk with gastric bypass) and to bone loss.  An occasional diet soda is probably fine, but again, I would suggest thinking of it as a treat and not as a daily thing you do.

I hope this helps!

In Health,

Dr. Jacques