BariMelts Dissolvable Vitamins
BariMelts Dissolvable Vitamins
Bariatric Surgery Multivitamins, Iron and Calcium that melt in your mouth
Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by BariMelts (www.barimelts.com). All opinions expressed are my own.
Watch the video review below or scroll down for more of my feedback on BariMelts dissolvable vitamins!
Save 20% off BariMelts Vitamins with this link!
How long do patients needs vitamins after bariatric surgery? What do you need to be taking?
Patients who’ve had a weight loss surgery (bariatric surgery) are advised to take vitamin supplements for life. The digestive anatomy has been altered which changes how things absorb. Also, because portions are restricted by the pouch, it limits how much can intake comes from the diet.
The American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) provides recommendation based on science based research for what vitamins a patient should have based on gender, age and previous health history.
This previous blog post covers what vitamins a patient needs and this blog post covers what lab work bariatric patients needs annually.
While that information can be very helpful, nothing beats keeping follow up appointments with your surgery team and reviewing labs and vitamins with your bariatric dietitian. (Contact me if you need help finding someone licensed in your state.)
An alternative to bariatric capsules or chewables…dissolvable vitamins from BariMelts!
Patients often ask me if they need to take a bariatric specific vitamin. At the end of the day we want to reach the ASMBS recommendations for your situation and that can be accomplished in different ways. However, a bariatric specific vitamin will cover a lot more and require you to take less items. You get more bang for your buck if you go that route.
Many bariatric vitamins on the market are chewable or capsules. Now there is another option for you provided by Bari Melts. Their products are dissolvable so you neither swallow a capsules or chew the vitamin but instead allow it to melt in your mouth!
BariMelts sent me a multivitamin, calcium, iron, biotin and B12 to try. After trying them for myself I determined these to be another great option for patients.
BariMelts Dissolvable Multivitamin with Iron
The multivitamin is a Natural Fruit Flavor and dissolved in 46 seconds.
The full nutrition label is below. The vitamin contains most all the recommendations for post-op patients though note it has 18 mg of iron. For males or post-menopausal females with no history of anemia (low iron) that would be enough.
For those who don’t fit those categories, you would require more iron and would need the dissolvable iron covered later in this post.
At the time of this review the Multivitamin with Iron is priced at $25.99 for a one month bottle (60 fast-melting tablets per bottle).
Below is the full label. Notice the label is for two tablets.
I was impressed with the taste and do notice the difference compared to a more chalky chewable vitamin. It does still have a slight vitamin taste to it (it is packed with vitamins after all!) but it was not offensive and it dissolved very fast.
Possibly most important to me personally was that it did not make me feel nauseated afterward. As someone who often feels a wave of queasy after vitamins, I purposely took it on an empty stomach so I could see how it went. The wave didn’t come! Everyone is different on this but I was encouraged by that for patients who have nausea with vitamins.
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BariMelts Dissolvable Calcium
The calcium is a Berry Flavor and took 2 minutes to dissolve. The flavor was really tasty!
See the full nutrition label below. The important thing to look for in calcium after bariatric surgery is for a ‘citrate’ form of calcium. Many over the counter calcium supplements will use a calcium carbonate which is not as well absorbed.
At the time of this review the Calcium is priced at $26.99 for a one month bottle (120 fast-melting tablets per bottle). Though some patients will need more than 4 per day making the bottle last less than a full month.
Below is the full nutrition label. Note the serving size is 2 tablets and together they provide 500 mg of calcium.
The recommendation is 1200-1500 mg of calcium a day. Many patients will need two tablets, twice a day plus calcium containing foods in their diet. Some patients will need a third round of calcium tablets.
The body absorbs 500-600 mg at one time so the 2 tablets do need to be space out from one another. Iron competes for absorption against calcium so avoid taking calcium after you’ve taken an iron containing vitamin.
The taste of the berry flavored calcium is really good! While it does take longer to dissolve compared to the multivitamin and iron, the two minutes is still pretty quick. I started mine then put on my shoes and grabbed by purse and it was dissolved by the time I was pulling out of the driveway!
Save 20% off BariMelts Calcium
BariMelts dissolvable Iron with Vitamin C
The iron is a Natural Orange Flavor and took 44 seconds to dissolve. This one was my favorite of the flavors. It reminded me of an orange tic tac!
See the full nutrition label below. I mentioned before some patients will need additional iron than the 18 mg provided in the multivitamin. If you are a menstruating female or have had a past history of anemia the ASMBS recommends you have 45-60 mg of elemental Iron daily.
At the time of this review the Iron is priced at $21.99 for a one month bottle (60 fast-melting tablets per bottle). Some patients can take 2 per day instead of 3 making the bottle last more than one month.
Note on the label below that the serving size is 3 tablets and provides 54 mg of iron. This means one tablet contains 18 mg of iron.
The ASMBS recommends 45-60 mg for menstruating females or patients with a past history of anemia. If you take the Bari Melts Multivitamin which contains 18 mg of iron, you could add two Bari Melts Iron tablets and hit 54 mg of iron.
You can take the iron at the same time as the multivitamin, however, you do need to space it away from the calcium supplements. You’ll also want to avoid any tea or coffee (or alcohol) which contain tannins and interfere with iron absorption.
For patients that battle anemia and struggle taking iron containing vitamins, I would definitely recommend giving this supplement a try. It may be a game changer for the iron to dissolve in your mouth!
Because this is an elemental iron (bariatric specific vitamins will use elemental iron) the dosage will sound smaller than an iron you buy over the counter and much easier on you to digest and absorb. If you are used to seeing an iron tablet that says 325 mg it might seem like this one does not have as much iron! That is the difference in an elemental iron that is more efficiently absorbed.
Other BariMelts Products
I also tried the Bari Melts Vitamin B12 and Biotin.
Similar to the products above, the had pleasant taste and dissolved quickly!
For most patients these items aren’t needed in addition to the Multivitamin. In some instances your provider may recommend addiotional therapetutic vitamins such as these.
Another great reminder to have your yearly labs checked and keep your follow up appointments! If you need help finding someone in your area, you can contact me here.
Hi Steph! Thank you for the information. I was not able to view the video because it asked me for a password to view the video and i didn’t know what that password would be. i tried my login password but that didn’t work. I don’t know if it is from the web browser i am using or not, i’m at work. So, i read the information. My bariatric team recommends 3,000iu’s of vitamin D and the BariMelts MVI only has 800iu, so would i also need to take additional vitamin D along with the calcium? Thanks,
Jamie
Thank you for letting me know about the video! I will get the link fixed!
The calcium supplement has 1500 IUs of vitamin D for two tablets, so if you were to do their calcium and take two tablets twice a day you would have the vitamin D because of the calcium instead of the multivitamin!
Vitamins are clear as mud
So what vitamins do we need after surgery?
@Susan Miller here is the blog (also linked above) that covers vitamin needs after surgery. It does differ for each patient based on gender, age, surgery and past history (if someone has had a history of low iron before). On that blog there is an image for each scenario you can click on and read the requirements. Most patients will take at least a bariatric multivitamin and calcium citrate but may need more depending on their needs and what the labels show on the vitamin!