Against a background of widespread obesity among all US and UK age-groups, and the relative failure of conventional weight loss methods, doctors are increasingly resorting to gastrointestinal surgery in order to curb the rise of weight-related disease, and associated costs and strain being placed on the health service providers.

For people who are of a normal weight, there are claims that having the operation is the easy option ? for people who have had or are having the operation, nothing about it is easy and in some cases, it is not even an option.

There are various types of gastric surgery but the most popular are banding and bypass. Different surgeons will use different techniques to perform variations of these two procedures but the principles and outcomes are the same.

Banding is where a silicon band is put around the top part of the stomach. It is usually stitched into place to stop slippage. Most bands fitted now are adjustable ? there is a port connected to the band, which is placed under the skin just below the breast bone. The idea being, as you loose weight the band is tightened.

Bypass surgery is much more invasive and involves having a section of your stomach removed and some of your small intestines are re-routed. This operation should be viewed as non-reversible, even thought the bypass can be reverse once your stomach is removed it is gone forever.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both of these operations before, during and after the procedure. All of these need to be thought through very carefully before making any decisions as they can easily be regretted.

After having one of these procedures your diet will change dramatically, not just in the early post op days. After your operation you will probably see a dietician who will advise that you take nutritional vitamin and mineral supplements. This is very important after bypass surgery as different parts of your stomach absorb different nutrients and some of these areas will now be missing.

Until recently the problem with this is the lack of suitable supplements available to anyone who had undergone gastric surgery. There are shelves and shelves of supplements in tablet form ? these are unsuitable for two reasons. In people who have not had this operation it has already been proved that vitamins in tablet form quite often pass through the digestive system untouched. Secondly after these operations the opening into the stomach is reduced in size ? this is done so that food passes into the stomach slower and the person feels fuller after eating a smaller amount. Which means these tablets can get stuck.

Now, at last, there is a high quality liquid supplement available. Being a liquid there are no problems with getting it down. Not only does it contain a complete range of vitamins it also includes;

Mineral Matrix ? an advanced blend of trace minerals often missing from today's diets.

High Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) Fruit Extracts ? a big boost of antioxidants to protect against free radical damage.

Amino Acids ? your body can't make these essential building blocks, so a daily supply is a must.

Phytochemicals ? support your body's key functions with micro-nutrients found in fruits and vegetables.

Prebiotic ? encourage friendly bacteria for greater bio-activity, that means quicker and more effective absorption of minerals and nutrients by your body.

It gets even better ? there are 3 versions of this liquid supplement. One for vegans and vegetarians, another for sensitive stomachs and the classic version which is sugar free and suitable for diabetics.

And the name of this amazing product is Maximol.