Sunday, January 4, 2009

Healthier Hospital Food?

My work is not over until hospitals stop feeding Jell-O and sugar water to their patients.

6 comments:

Cheryl said...

Hospitals and Green Jello have always gone hand-in-hand, haven't they? Well I wouldn't be surprised if others have questioned healthier food options also. Good luck with that!

I have made it my new years resolution this year to go without refined sugar as well. Your blog was one of the first hits I found on google, so that came in handy. :) I've read most of your posts from the past year and I'm impressed you managed to sustain this for over a year! Way to go!! When I did my grocery shopping the other day, I didn't realize how many things I usually buy contained sugar or glucose-fructose. I did find a loaf of organic bread with evap. cane sugar, but it sounds like it's just another term for 'sugar'. :( Oh well, at least I'm off all those sweets and junk in the snack aisles for a while I hope. I'd be happy if I can even get to 6 months! All the best with your 09 year without sugar. :)

Hope said...

Is there some sort of rationale behind serving jello, apart from the fact that it is easy to make in large batches? I mean, is it something about how digestible it is, or how it can get sugar to diabetics quickly?

Tamra said...

Just found your blog thru a friend. Wow. I go a couple weeks without sugar, and find that difficult enough, so I admire what you're doing!

Hospitals and sugar... ugh. A friend of ours was just in there and needed a feeding tube. They basically were feeding him junk - sugar, chemicals and even dye. Unbelievable. When the family tried to make changes, they were told that they were not nutritionists. Um, neither are the doctors obviously. It's crazy how they simply read the 'nutrition' label and not the ingredients... as if chemically derived nutrients actually nourish anyone.
Thanks for your work.

My Year Without said...

CL-
Congratulations on your decision to eat healthier and go without sugar! I was VERY particular about staying away from refined sugars (including evaporated cane sugar, which is a disguised way of saying white table sugar), but if staying away from the junk food/snacks aisle is a start for you, then that's awesome! I think quitting sugar is a different journey for everyone.

I know that you can make it 6 months and longer. Just know that the first few weeks/months are the TOUGHEST! Once you make it that far, though, you'll probably be in the clear. For me, I knew after 3 months that I would make it all year. Good luck!

hoperu-
I plan on finding out WHY jell-O is served in hospitals, this month. My plan is to interview a few different dietitians who work at hospitals. I am very eager for answers!

Tamra-
I had no idea what the ingredients of a feeding tube are! That is so scary! I will add that to my list of questions to ask a dietitian, and from what I've heard, doctors do not spend much of their schooling on nutrition. I hope that's changing! I also hope that you're friend is doing well.

Kathleen said...

I totally agree. I started reading your blog a few months ago and you have inspired me!
I was in the hospital for an operation recently and was presented with a package of "juice" that was only 15% juice and contained high fructose corn syrup. Luckily, the staff was happy to switch it for a serving of 100% juice. I was on a liquid diet, so I couldn't have whole fruits. Thanks for your blog!

Kathleen said...

I totally agree. I started reading your blog a few months ago and you have inspired me!
I was in the hospital for an operation recently and was presented with a package of "juice" that was only 15% juice and contained high fructose corn syrup. Luckily, the staff was happy to switch it for a serving of 100% juice. I was on a liquid diet, so I couldn't have whole fruits. Thanks for your blog!