hospital food

What is the hospital food like in your area?

In Ontario, the food is pretty much processed with lots of additives/chemicals, not freshly made but brought in frozen from outside kitchens, and even the fruit and juice is in a fruit cup with added sugar and preservatives.

This is the food they're giving sick people??? How is this type of food going to help US crohnies get better/heal when we're in the hospital?

I was in hospital recently and they gave me for breakfast processed oatmeal, JELLO, vanilla pudding, coffee and OJ. When I read the ingredients on the containers I couldn't believe how processed and fake it all was. I ate the oatmeal and drank the OJ only. Tummy hurt as usual, but it would've been WAY worse if I had the jello and fake chemical pudding.

I'm surprised that with Crohn's disease you got anything but a strict liquid diet. Juice, coffee , jello, water, and broth.
That's been my experience. Only clear liquids and nothing but, when they sent me home it's been " start gradual intake of foods, like oatmeal".
It bites, but I was told they do it to try to calm down the inflammation and give your intestines a break.

Roni, I'm too surprised at the crap they feed patients. It all comes down to cost, processed food is cheaper.

FitzyK23 does have a really great suggestion...I spoke to a few dietitians during my stay and they listened to my request for things like boost shakes when I was unable to eat. Maybe you could do the same so that you're given better food you can handle?

I meant pure fruit popsicles..I know they're kind of rare but my hospital had some thank god. And I concur with the jello. I didn't touch the stuff either so they stopped sending it.
You mean they don't give you fresh fruit though? I thought most places did that :( I brought home so many uneaten bananas because they were still green and I wanted them to ripen.
I'm really surprised that's all they're giving you though. I knew it was not so good, but I didn't realize it was that bad elsewhere. Good luck on getting healthier food!

The food during my hospital stay was not bad at all. The nutritionist/dietitian came up to my room to discuss the different food options there would be for me (like pureeing the regular food to make it easier to digest). The food services department was excellent, accommodating for special requests that I made, like sending up jars of baby food, bottles of Poland Spring Water (the tap water tasted nasty), Gatorade (my potassium levels were low), and even putting the Cream of Wheat cereal into a cardboard container versus a container that had also been used for broths and stuff (even though the container had been obviously cleaner, it still retained some of the smell and stuff from whatever had previously been in it).

The helpfulness of the staff and the nurses and doctors probably made this my best hospital visit yet, or at least as good as it could be, being in a hospital.

It's probably best to speak with the nutritionist and food staff right away, as soon as food is permitted, to prevent all sorts of mixups and poor food options.

Hospital food here in England? Well actually, in my hospital here in Cornwall they are trying really hard and use all local produce and meats. However, there are NO SPECIAL DIETS - like NONE! not even veggie. It is horrible. Last time I was in I had my husband bring in meals for me, it was a royal pain for him (actually no it wasn't because they put a rota in my church and they all took turns!!)

Here anyway, they say that CD is not effected by diet and will offer no special diet for it. Even on the GI wards. Sad really. Hospital Food really, can barely be called food! [img]/community/emoticons/turn.gif[/img] I have seen the three dieticians they have for this area and knew more than all of them. Waste of time for me really, but maybe they are better in the states....

yrot

Post Edited By Moderator (ivy6) : 8/24/2008 2:15:58 AM (GMT-6)

LMills said...
I meant pure fruit popsicles..I know they're kind of rare but my hospital had some thank god. And I concur with the jello. I didn't touch the stuff either so they stopped sending it.
You mean they don't give you fresh fruit though? I thought most places did that :( I brought home so many uneaten bananas because they were still green and I wanted them to ripen.
I'm really surprised that's all they're giving you though. I knew it was not so good, but I didn't realize it was that bad elsewhere. Good luck on getting healthier food!

Pure fruit popsicles... now that sounds appetizing. I highly doubt they'd offer that around here tho.

YROT, I can't believe they say that crohn's isn't affected by diet. That's crazy! There are studies now that prove that for crohnies, certain foods can trigger a flare.

The other thing I hate about the hospital food around here is most of it is prepared by outside kitchens, frozen, then sent to the hospital. I wonder if they add preservatives. I'll be asking that for sure. You'd think that national food guides would encourage citizens to eat less processed foods. Fresh is best, eh? 

The only time I've ever been hospitalized for something Crohn's related was when I was in London in July. The food they gave me there was ridiculous for a Crohn's patient. Apparently the lady who had the bed before me had ordered meals already, so her meals were delivered to me. They served me coleslaw sandwiches and salads. Then they got mad when I asked for something different. I had to calmly explain that I hadn't ordered those meals and that I never would have. So in the end I got mashed potatoes. Without my friends visiting and bringing me stuff, that's all I would have eaten for two days thanks to the food staff there. Sometimes it really does help to have friends nearby.