There can be many reasons why you might want to use multivitamins in powder form. Some people have difficulty swallowing pills or tablets, and some people just don't like to swallow them. While these are of importance to some, the reason discussed here will be concerned with those who are effected by their choice to reduce the size of their stomach through bariatric (weight loss) surgery.

Probably one of the fastest growing segments of people who would benefit from powder nutrition are those who have had some kind of stomach and/or digestive system altering weight loss surgery.

The stomachs of these wry patients usually cannot handle tablets. In fact, initially after the surgery, they are only able to have liquids. Eventually, they will move on to semi solid foods before graduating to solid food again.

However, even once they're back eating solid food, not much is going to fit into a stomach which has been reduced to about the size of a small egg.

Nutritional deficiencies are common to all gastric bypass patients, including my wife. This is due to the fact that the bypass creates a malabsorption of calories and nutrients, as a result of drastically reducing the digestive area, and bypassing the small intestine portion in which most vitamins, especially Vitamin B-12 (Cyanocobalamin), are digested and absorbed. Vitamin supplements become necessary after gastric surgery in order for the body to receive vitamins that are no longer entering the body through food intake.

Recently the medical journal, The Lancet, discussed a case where a young woman had undergone bypass surgery and suffered a vitamin deficiency after failing to take her multivitamins. The article highlighted the importance of vitamin supplementation and monitoring thiamine levels. Even in my own family, one family member has suffered severe neurological problems bgical problems because of failing to take the appropriate vitamins, and has experienced blindness, possibly related to this problem.