If you’ve been following my Tweets over the weekend, you know that I was at the hospital up North with my Mom. She was taken there by ambulance Friday night with a few different problems that you can read a bit about at that link. Thankfully, she is much better, but this post, however, is basically a get-it-off-my-chest post…
It wasn’t easy for me to let it go when I saw what was coming up on her meal tray, or the food choices on her list to pick from. First of all, she’s diabetic, you’d think her food options might look a little better. Maybe they were better than the average patient’s choices, and that is a scary thought, indeed.
Here are some examples of what got me all riled up:
- Margarine comes up routinely on the trays. When I asked if they had any real butter, the dietary aide looked at me like I had 3 heads and said, “Well, I don’t know. People so rarely ask for it…we might have some in the freezer.” Thank God she found some, so we could keep it nearby and promptly toss the “Promise” packets in the trash when they showed up. But what about all those patients who don’t know to ask for it?
- The “SF” option was all over the menu list. “Sugar free yogurt”, “Diet Jelly”, “Sugar free syrup”, “Sugar free jello”, “Sugar substitute” for her coffee, “Sugar free ketchup”. Yes, since she has diabetes, she can’t have much sugar, but why not only a small amount of real sugar, and that’s it? Or a natural sugar substitute, like Stevia? All those chemicals in her system can’t be good. (She uses these at home, too. That’s what the dietitians tell her to use.)
- There were no healthy fats in sight. How can patients heal without healthy fats? As I said, margarine is all you see, and there’s also plenty of 2% milk offered, along with low-fat yogurt, and non-dairy creamer. (Find out why low-fat dairy is terrible for us.)
- Mom said the scrambled eggs tasted like “egg beaters”, and if not, they were barely yellow and made with more egg white than egg yolk, the most nutritious part! (Eggs are a superfood! SO good for us!)
- The one that really got me going: an option for breakfast was (of course Mom didn’t choose it), are you ready for this? SUGAR POPS cereal!!! Oh, what’s a little high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, super processed corn, & chemical preservatives to help a patient recover?! Check out this Sugar Pops ingredient label.
It’s an uphill battle, but we’ll win for sure!
Some days when writing this blog and interacting with all of you, my awesome informed readers who are open to the truth about nutrition, it’s easy to think that we’re getting there! The truth is getting out! Then I sit up at the hospital a few days with Mom and I’m head first back into the realization of how far we have yet to go.
It’s not their fault
Believe me, I get it that the dietitians putting the junk on the hospital trays are A. stuck within their budget, and B. only doing what the “higher ups” tell them to do and what they have taught as “healthy food gospel”. Before we can change what the registered dietitians are feeding hospital patients (and school kids), first we need to reach the doctors, but before we reach them, I believe we’ll have to teach them. I suppose the only way to do that is to continue teaching each other and hope it trickles up. One thing that comes to mind is how my doc didn’t have a real high regard for organic foods when I first brought it up to him a few years ago, but now that it’s all over the stores due to consumer demand, I’ll bet he’s thinking more about it these days. Also, it’s encouraging to see that the WAPF is gaining ground and spreading the word far and wide.
What are your ideas? Where do you see the important battles taking place?
- My other post on this topic: not-so-healthy hospital recipe substitutions
- Read more about breakfast cereals
- 10 Healthy Breakfast Ideas
- 10 Steps to better health
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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
kris 02.02.09 at 6:17 am
First off, I am sorry to hear your mother is in hospital.
I will be 66 yrs old in May of this year. During the past few years, although I always ate a well balanced healthy diet, I really wasn’t as aware as I should be. I still like some of the “junk” I ate growing up!!
I am still working and run a small business with my daughter (a Waldorf education resource business) so don’t always have time to read as much as I would like on your website but am amazed and grateful to you for doing it!! One of the books we carry is Nourishing Traditions which is amazing!!
Don’t give up! And thanks again for your efforts.
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Kelly 02.02.09 at 8:19 am
Hi Kris, I still like some junk, too! (Sweets mostly.) But I’m getting better. It just makes me sad that a hospital of all places would offer the junk.
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April 02.02.09 at 8:40 am
I was just thinking about this last night…not your mother in the hospital (glad she’s doing better!!), but how we can actually forget how bad it is, because we are able to surround ourselves with like-minded people via the wonder of the internet. I’m just beginning on this journey of eating real food, but so much of it has become such a given for me–I forget that there are actually people out there who still eat margarine and aspartame.
And I agree…for the most part, they’re all doing what they think is right. Education is key!!
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Natalie 02.02.09 at 8:42 am
Hi Kelly,
Did you try the hospital cafeteria while you were visiting your mom? When I was still working at the hospital here in town, I ate in the cafeteria every day for lunch. You would be surprised at what was available for purchase. Thank goodness that every day we get wiser about our food choices.
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leslie 02.02.09 at 8:51 am
i agree that education is the key. i am very glad i found this website and the local chapter of the WAPF. i am still learning all this myself. it is nice to have people who are doing it too and willing to answer any questions i have. when we first started down this nutritional road i thought it was going to be a lonely one, with people shaking their heads claiming we are going to all fall down with heart attacks.
i have to agree that hospital food is terrible. when i was there giving birth to my sons, i actually had my husband bring food from home for me. a breastfeeding mother needs more than a skinless chicken breast and squishy green beans!
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leslie 02.02.09 at 8:52 am
i am also very happy your mom is doing better!!
that last word in my previous post is beans. sorry
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Kimberly 02.02.09 at 9:02 am
Kelly,
I’m so sorry about your mom. Is she still in the hospital? Unfortunately, I’m not really surprised at her food options. I work in a nursing home. The food choices there are actually a little better than some places I’ve worked, but still not great. On the upside, the do serve real butter, real eggs, and they always have fresh fruit out if the residents want a snack. But they only serve 2% or skim milk, and it is of course pasteurized and homogenized. They serve a ton of sugar-laden sweets and “pancake syrup” … not real maple, and tons of boxed breakfast cereals (though no Corn Pops and Sugar Pops). All of the meals are SAD foods. I’ve never seen any ethnic food choices. Nothing is organic. There are lots of pre-packaged and/or frozen things (like the potato salad, which has a terrible ingredient list). Lots of white flour choices, like breads and pastas, though there is whole wheat bread. And though I sometimes recommend to patients on antibiotics that they eat yogurt, I’m reluctant because it’s loaded with HFCS. And while, like I said, I think they have better choices than many, it’s still frustrating, and I’m sure even much more so when it’s a loved one’s health your dealing with. I’m so glad that you were able to be there. Hopefully every time we speak up makes some small impact. BTW, I live in Cleveland, and I will say that the Cleveland Clinic is trying to make some positive changes in their dietary choices for patients, employees and visitors. They still tend to follow the path of the typical diet dictocrats, but they have replaced all the junk food in the vending machine with healthier alternatives, including things like nuts. And there are even a lot of things in the cafeteria that real food or NT believers could be happy with. So, even though it’s still not perfect, there is progress!
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Julie 02.02.09 at 9:10 am
HI Kelly,
I hope your mom continues to get better and to get out of the hospital soon . A book she could benefit from is: The Schwartzbein Priciple. The author is an endocrinologist and her research deals primarily with diabetics.
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Kelly 02.02.09 at 9:10 am
April, I wish we could just stay in our own world, but if we all keep getting “out there”, we can change things!
Natalie, no I never went to the cafeteria, probably a good thing!
Leslie, I fixed it for ya (the “beans” word).
Kimberly, Mom is still there, but hopefully home today or tomorrow. I will call up there soon and see how her night went. OH, and the other thing about yogurt (which I wanted Mom to eat, too) besides the HFCS, was that of course there was no WHOLE milk yogurt to be found. I wasn’t surprised though. It’s tricky enough finding it at the store.
Glad to hear that about the Cleveland Clinic. Getting the junk OUT is a great first step, now if we could get them to let go of the saturated fat myth, WOW, can you imagine?!
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Jody 02.02.09 at 9:13 am
Kelly,
Oh, my gosh. Every time we have wound up at the hospital, I leave appalled by the menu choices. My oldest daughter had pneumonia when she was 15 months old. She needed to eat something with her medicine, and the nurse brought an assortment of trans-fat filled COOKIES and a Swiss Miss pudding cup. TO A 15-month old with pneumonia.
We actually spent the evening in the ER on Friday night with the same daughter. We thought that she might be having an appendicitis. As it turns out, she was not. She apparently has a virus causing the lymph nodes surrounding her belly button to swell and hurt. When we left, they gave her a Hawaiian Punch slushie.
I could go on, but I won’t right now. Perhaps when my kids are a bit older, I’ll start a campaign to change the food served in the local hospitals!
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Kelly 02.02.09 at 9:14 am
Julie, I’d LOVE for Mom to read this…but don’t know if it will happen. Another good one I just sent my sister was recommended to me by Anna, who comments here often, “Blood Sugar 101″ by Jenny Ruhl.
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Sarah 02.02.09 at 9:46 am
I have also been appalled by the food choices at hospitals. I have watched my grandparents eat all sorts of garbage in their retirement home as well as in the hospital. That is why when I gave birth to my first baby four months ago I was prepared. I had made and frozen soaked grain pancakes and chicken stock. My mom and husband brought those things along with other real foods the entire time I was in the hospital. I wasn’t there long but I was so thankful for real nourishment as I was recovering from being anemic and starting to breastfeed. I can only hope the nurses took note of what I was eating. It is a pity that more people in the hospital don’t have the support that I did. Maybe the hospitals would get the message sooner that we want foods to help us to heal.
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Tamara 02.02.09 at 10:32 am
Sorry to hear about your mother’s ordeal, i pray she recovers quickly.
It surely seems like there is a LOT of work to do concerning educating each other and those that are supposed to be taking care of us when things happen. Corn pops, tho? SERIOUSLY?! lol
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Kelly 02.02.09 at 11:29 am
I can’t tell you guys how nice it is to share this with others who “get it” and are as freaked out about it as I was sitting up there in the hospital. Some that I mentioned it to were like, “Oh, corn pops aren’t that bad.” YIKES! And thank you for all your prayers, everyone.
Turns out Mom had pneumonia and a blood infection, so I’m thanking the Lord for the kidney stone pains that got her to the ER! It’s always wild when He uses something rotten for good.
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Barbara 02.02.09 at 11:41 am
Kelly, I read your post and think we have to do one more thing first, we need to teach people that THEY are in charge of their health. It makes me so mad when someone tells me “The doctors told me to do….”. I always say that the doctors are only human and each of us is in charge of our own health. The doctors are only doing what their taught and who tells the med schools what to teach? the drug comanies that support them. As long as we remain silent we can’t expect them to change. We have to remember that there’s no profit in good health! Sorry for the rant, but it’s so sad to see people suffering and feel helpless to do anything.
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leslie 02.02.09 at 11:55 am
barbara, that is such a good point!! i agree that people have to take control of their own health and that doctors are not always right.
not only do we not know what is taught in med school, but where was your doctor in the graduating class? were they A or C students? how are they continuing their education? it is sad that people have put complete faith in the doctors without ever looking into their issues themselves.
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Kelly 02.02.09 at 11:59 am
Hi Kelly! Just found your site…and also am a Michigander! I am sorry to hear about your mom being in the hospital. The food choices are appalling. I am currently completing my degree in holistic nutrition. Its funny because one of my classes involved me actually calling a registered dietician at a local hospital and interviewing her on what was served to patients and about the different specialties (renal diet, diabetic diet). It was sickening to hear they were fed egg product that came in POUCHES, margarine, SF EVERYTHING and the like. I asked her if there were any real eggs (I was desperate so I did not even SAY the word pastured) and she said “ummm, I think so in the egg salad but that comes from Gordon Food Services premade”. SIGH. You know, my degree will never land me a hospital job (not sure if I am happy about that or not) but what it will do is let me get out there and educate people. I plan on not only counseling people, but teaching classes through community ed and where ever else they will let me talk! That’s where my battleground will be! I cannot wait to spread the WAPF word around (more than I do right now anyway!). Thanks for your great site and my prayers are with your family for your mom’s speedy recovery!
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Janet W 02.02.09 at 2:13 pm
Kelly,
I’m sorry about your mom, I’m glad something got her to the hospital and they discovered what all was wrong.
Online is the only place I can find like minded people about food. My parents are close, my dad had an organic garden for 30 years, but they still eat canola oil, they eat out a lot, my dad’s breakfast is cold cereal and soy milk (EEEEEKKKKK). I’ve told my mother some things but she usually says every person’s needs are different (they are, but not that much) or, once, she flat out said I don’t believe you. Sheesh. But my friends all eat SAD. They follow what the MDs say without ever thinking, Hey, it’s *MY* body, maybe I know better what’s wrong than someone outside. I know someone with low blood sugar, very overweight, asthma and severe knee problems who said he drinks soft drinks and eats candy bars when his blood sugar drops.
And we ARE going to have to work up, but it will only work to a certain point. Above that point, the problem isn’t nutrition and education, but MONEY. I made a list once of everyone who would lose money if people gave up factory food and ate things they could produce themselves:
1. the medical community, including everyone at hospitals, nursing homes, all the equipment manufacturers, etc.
2. the chemical community — you know, the giant businesses that make the toxic pesticides and fertilizers, the processed foods, AND the drugs that doctors give out to “cure” the diseases created by the toxic chemicals and processed foods
3. the diet industry including authors, publishers, paper manufacturers, pill makers, diet clinics, diet foods
4. the dental community
None of them will voluntarily give up their huge slice of the pie.
And here is some of what we are working against:
Quackwatch on WAP
More against WAP
Still more, but a nice defense
Sorry for my tirade. “I’d like to teach the world…” to think for themselves. Sigh
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Kimberly 02.02.09 at 4:11 pm
Janet,
Boy, that diseaseproof blog (more against WAP) is frustrating, isn’t it? But I was impressed at how many WAPF supporters spoke up and that their statements were so much more logical and articulate. And you know, they talked about how the science SF uses is old, but they didn’t talk about how much less healthy so many Americans are now that they’re following the new “science.” Anyway, thanks for sharing.
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Jen 02.02.09 at 5:26 pm
I hope that your mother is doing better. That had to be stressful.
I have been reading your blog for some time now but normally don’t comment. I felt you might appreciate a different perspective though. I am currently in school working on becoming a registered dietitian. I am currently in my hospital rotation. (I will graduate the end of April.) You do have some valid complaints. These are some of the same complaints I have with hospital foodservice in fact. In our hospital, the menu is planned by the chef, not the RDs. Although I do believe the RDs have input on the special diets, cardiac, renal, etc. The foodservice department is majorly restricted by budget. The healthiest foods are not necessarily the ones that fit into the budget. We do the best with what we can. We serve patients white bread when we know that we should be serving whole grains, etc. Another issue to consider is free choice. We can’t force people to eat healthy. We can instruct them on a healthy diet until we are blue in the face but we can’t make them follow it. Which is why things like corn pops still have to be offered on the menu. The hospitals are extremely concerned with patient satisfaction ratings and satisfaction with the foodservice is a big part of it. My biggest gripe is that the doctors are responsible for prescribing diets and yet they have had no nutrition classes in med school. Dietitians are mainly responsible for the nutrition education component. As unfortunate as it is, things like soaking your grains and the benefits of non pasteurized, non homogenized milk are not the mainstream way of thinking. If I tried to mention that to one of my patients, they would look at me like I was insane. So I start with baby steps, and hope that I have made some sort of difference in the patients’ lives to get them headed in the direction of health. If you throw too much info at them, they are just going to ignore you.
Anyway, thought you might like a different perspective. Not all dietitians are against nourishing traditions methods.
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Kelly 02.02.09 at 10:18 pm
Jen, I really do appreciate you sharing your perspective. And oh I hope that all the RD’s out there don’t think I was bashing them! As I said in the post, I know that budgets are a big reason that healthier foods can’t be served, and even the RD’s that aren’t familiar with Nourishing Traditions methods can’t be faulted, because they’re only going by what they’ve been taught. It’s definitely the bigger picture that I’m frustrated with, not the RD’s themselves. I’m so thankful for your comment so I was nudged to make that clear.
I think you’re right on with your baby steps. I’ve learned that too, with most people (myself included years ago when I first began eating healthier), we just can’t digest too much at once.
I couldn’t agree more with this statement, “My biggest gripe is that the doctors are responsible for prescribing diets and yet they have had no nutrition classes in med school.”
You know, I’ve thought of going back to school to become a RD, but each time it crosses my mind, I’m convinced that I’d never make it without being kicked out! There’s no way I’d be able to keep my mouth shut when the whole “low fat” or “sugar free” lessons came through, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg, I’m sure. Has it been difficult for you? Maybe you were lucky (in a way!) and didn’t find the Nourishing Traditions and WAP info until closer to the end of your schooling!
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Kelly 02.02.09 at 10:26 pm
Barbara, you can rant here any old time.
Kelly, I’ll be glad to know you’re in the trenches, teaching the truth!
Janet, I love your list of who would be hurting if we all started eating whole, nutrient dense foods! I didn’t look at those sites yet because they only irritate me, yet I agree with Kimberly, when I’ve been on before, there were always some very well-written responses that make great sense. I’ve posted some of those sites here on the blog before, too, because I want readers to be totally informed. I don’t want them to blindly follow me or anyone. I hope they will go to those sites, and wrestle with what they read there, and decide for themselves where the truth and common sense lies.
Kimberly, you nailed it here: “they didn’t talk about how much less healthy so many Americans are now that they’re following the new ’science.’” How many years have we been on the fat-free, sugar-free kick and look around! It’s not workin’.
What fun chats, everyone! I thought I was tired, but you’ve all got me charged up again, off to write more posts!
Kelly
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Ronda 02.02.09 at 11:15 pm
ditto. i work at a hosptial as well. my parents are of the age “doctor knows best” so both of them battle their diabetes constantly eating all the prescribed foods and taking their insulin, while i pull my hair out in vain! it is an ethical issue to me. i mean really! they have taken an oath to do no harm and are supposed to be delivering health and wellness! instead they are actually supporting the diabetes with their brainwashed ways. even if they did have more nutrition education it would be the same old crap. (sorry but it is… crap) has anyone heard of a clinic in the midwest (kansas? maybe) that actually boasts a near 100% success rate in controlling diabetes with strict, truthful nutrition principals? you would think that kind of success would spread like wildfire, but no. i guess if that happened the entire healthcare institution as we know it would crumble and the dollars behind it aren’t going to let that happen. hope you have better luck with your mother than i do mine and well wishes to her for a fast recovery.
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Kelly 02.04.09 at 10:03 am
Mom is coming home today!
Ronda, you’ve got my interest with that clinic you mentioned – that would make a great post. If mainstream media won’t shout their success from the rooftops, I will!
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Diana 02.05.09 at 8:50 am
Hi Kelly,
So glad your mom is doing better!!!
The clinic you are talking about is in Kansas, run by Dr Mary Vernon.
Mens Health did an interview with her, check it out here:
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=health&category=other.diseases.ailments&conitem=4a935e4e40fae010VgnVCM20000012281eac____&page=1
make sure you read all the pages, there is a “next page” at the bottom.
As a newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic, ( 3 weeks ago ), I am SOOOOO thankful to have found your site, among many others, last year. I have been implementing all reccomendations for the past 9 months, so I can say for sure, that had I been diagnosed last year:
1- My diabetes would have been MUCH worse
2- I would have taken the meds, and eaten the ADA’s RIDICULOS diet because I didn’t know better.
Kelly, I am not too religious a person, so to speak, but I truly believe that I was “pushed” to find and take in all this information last year, before my diagnosis, by some higher power. With all I have learned, I am keeping my diabetes under extremely tight control, without any medication. And I plan to continue this way.
Thanks for being here Kelly- you help more people than you know! Your site was the first I started with, and I look forward to your posts!
Diana
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Kelly 02.05.09 at 11:02 am
Hi Diana, you absolutely positively made my day. Truly. It’s good to hear now and then how God uses this site – it keeps me going through the sleep deprivation! (A little coffee doesn’t hurt, either.)
Great job on staying off the meds! Wow, you were only diagnosed recently, 3 weeks is a fresh diagnosis, you’re still probably trying to wrap your brain around it all. Another site you probably already know about for diabetes help: http://bloodsugar101.com/
Thanks for the scoop on that clinic! I’d searched for it and didn’t have any success. Can’t wait to go check out the link you gave.
SO COOL how God (the ultimate higher power) led you to the answers you would need to be healthy – He knew your heart and mind were ready and how much you would need the info in the future. I love the quote, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” My translation is “When a heart is open, God will gladly walk in with the Truths we need.” Whether it’s about our health, our faith life, or whatever it is.
So fun to hear from you, I’ll say a prayer that you’re able to continue keeping your blood sugar in control. (Did I ever mention on the blog that my Mom and two sisters also have Type 2 diabetes?)
Kelly
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Diana 02.05.09 at 11:12 am
Kelly,
Thanks for the prayer!
Luckily, I had read a lot about diabetes, and how to use a low carb way of eating to manage it, that my diagnosis was not all that traumatic. I know that I have gained valuable knowlege, and will never stop learning. I do know about blood sugar 101. I read all her posts last fall. It is a great site. I think somewhere deep down I knew this was coming.
Thanks again for all that you do!
Diana
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Holly Young 02.05.09 at 11:33 am
Kel,
I was never so thankful that I am educated about food as during my recent hospital stay. Due to my ability to look for whole foods on the menu I was able to make some wise choices as I was given menu selections each day. I know that my body was healing even though I was eating hospital food! I think knowledge is the most important factor no matter where you are getting your food (home, restaurant, hospital) and we all need to be diligent to look for the best options wherever we are making our food choices.
I appreciate your blog and other food advocates that I have learned so much from in the past year!
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Kelly 02.05.09 at 12:47 pm
Holly, you and Diana are both good reminders that if we take care of our bodies now with the best nutrient-dense foods we can find, we’ll be ready for whatever diagnosis or accident could be around the corner.
Ronda & Diana, thanks for getting me going on that clinic in Kansas, I am SOOOOOO posting about that soon – I just read the whole thing and loved it – it was very well written and right on!
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Judy 02.06.09 at 9:07 pm
I was just in the hospital staying with my Dad who died from pneumonia. He had Parkinson’s, so we weren’t too surprised. He once said to me when I was enthusiastically explaining about WAP that he wished he’d known sooner! He was a scientist, so that really impressed me. The “food” in the cafeteria was all very questionable. All yogurt had sugar, even though they said that the plain yogurt did not, but it was vanilla and sweet. They just didn’t know. The coffee creamer is liquid coffeemate out of a dispenser, everything was processed food. Only the bananas and apples were fairly normal. BTW, this was a time I could have really used good FAST FOOD. I wish I’d been more prepared. I ate most of it up over his 5 day hospitalization and had nothing else ready, so I had hospital soup, croissant/bacon/velveeta sandwich, and then I got a stomach bug. If I had made the crispy nuts and had eggs boiled, I could have run right out the door with them, but alas, I wasn’t prepared for this sudden development.
-Judy
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Kelly 02.06.09 at 9:52 pm
Judy, I’m so sorry to hear about your Dad. My Dad died 10 years ago of lung disease, and I still miss him.
I also had to eat junk when I was up in the hospital with Mom! I had an Arby’s sandwich one of the days and tried not to think of the trans fats and HFCS in the bread, the preservatives in the turkey, etc. …but it was probably still a better choice than something fried in who knows what oil… I hate to admit it, but those stupid sandwiches taste as good as I remembered!
I’ll say a prayer for you and your family,
Kelly
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