Discussion Board

How can we challenge Hospitals, RD's, etc. to look at the Vegan diet as as a path to health instead of a odd tough approach far from conventional wisdom? It appears that apart from Tufu and salads the established 'experts' have no idea or interest in looking at a healthier diet. The general thought appears that patients would never accept the change so why bother.

It would probably be an uphill battle. Some of the hospitals here have McDonald's in the lobby.

I'm hoping it can start to happen. I was in the hospital in January, and the dietitian came to my room and went over the menu with me and told me exactly what to order to get what I wanted. I got plain baked white and sweet potatoes, steamed, no-oil added vegetables, fresh fruit plate. It was way more than I could eat in the state I was in!

It was an experience that made me very hopeful that hospital food can change!

However, I also hope that I never will be eating hospital food again! Not a place I plan on visiting!

my experience with hospitals has been they are very accommodating. that is, the person in charge is and they direct the kitchen workers. oatmeal, baked potato, salad, fresh fruit, soy milk. but it has to be a special thing. most people won't eat that way, sad to say. they should at least have "heart-healthy" meals on the menu. (which would no doubt have chicken and some oil so not good for us McDougallers.)

I would think most hospitals could accommodate plant based diets -- it's like eating at a restaurant in that I don't expect to find a "ready made entree" on the menu, but rather I usually order just side dishes -- salad, dry, plain baked potato, some steamed veggies. Wouldn't most hospitals already have these types of foods available even if they are put together on a menu?

Sharon

I have been in two hospitals in the last six years or so. I always got healthy food. See the FOOD section of this weblog post: http://www.anti-itisdiet.blogspot.com/s ... l/hospital

The key is to ask for simple, plain, common foods: "Three baked potatoes, carrots, and the fruit plate, please -- plain, that is, no butter or salad oil."

I found that the main problem with hospitals isn't the dietitians or the admins or the doctors. The main problem is the patients. The vast majority love awful food and won't eat anything else.

My husband was just in the hospital a couple of weeks ago for an infection. The first day he was there a woman comes into the room and announces that she is the dietician. She stands at the end of my husband's bed and says, "So I hear you are a vegetarian." He tells her that he is most of the time. Then she says, "Well, you seem to have all of your faculties and so we will let you eat what you want." I almost jumped over the bed at her...good grief! I told her darn right he will.

catnip

I had to check carefully when ordering while in the hospital. Breakfast was easy. I checked that the oatmeal was made using water not milk. And had fruit with the oatmeal.

Lunch and dinner were vegetables which I checked on to make sure they were cooked without any oil or butter, and potatoes and fruit for dessert. One thing I could not get was plain balsamic vinegar. No salad dressings without oil so I could not eat salads. A wonderful menu if you wanted sausages, eggs, roast beef, turkey gravies and all kinds of rich desserts but very limited and boring otherwise. Now that I think of it, I should have had my daughter cook her delicious sweet potato and garbanzo bean stew for me and bring me in some balsamic vinegar. I don't know why I didn't think of it at the time. I found myself hoarding the apples and oranges that were available and always ordered extra.

Didi

you're right on, Burgess. And don't forget that the 'low-carbers' are just as upset when they don't get what they want - although their WOE is easier to come by. Hospitals are there to accommodate their patients - not change their eating habits at that particular time (just like the military is not the place to change social behavior - forgive me I just had to through that in ) that's for the patients to do on their own when they get home.