Food & the nitty gritty of motherhood 18 Aug 2007 05:27 pm
The cryin’ shame of hospital food.
 Is good nutrition impossible in the hospital?
My little boy came in sick and dedydrated. The no-brainer was to start him on IV fluids. They opted for no food; he had been barely eating before that anyway but they needed his system empty for some tests. Two days later he was ready for “clears”.
In our house we stay away from foods with:
- high fructose corn syrup
- aspartame
- MSG
- carrageenan
- preservatives
- additives like colors
- nitrates and nitrites
At the top of the list of reasons we do this is our boys’ sensitivity to these nasties. From them, we see hyperactivity, impulsivity, reflux, vomitting, constipation, and headaches. What we know is that foods containing these things are “triggers”, allergy style, for Wheaton; a week with them as a steady in his life will make a very sick boy indeed. In the modern American culture it’s almost impossible to stay away from these foods but this week I’ve had a bit of surprise.
In buildings full of people with compromised health it is IMPOSSIBLE to get foods without these additives. My boy was ready for “clear” foods and liquids. This means jello, broth, popsicles, and juices.
- Every juice has high fructose corn syrup, aspertame, or splenda
- all the broth has MSG
- the jello also has hfcs, artificial sweeteners, plus a tons of dye
- the popsicles….. so call “fruit pops” contain: sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup (THREE sweeteners?!), food dye, and carageenan.
Very quickly we realized that there was NOTHING he could eat on the entire hospital menu of “clears”. A very kind and sympathetic dietician worked with me to put together a list of solid foods he could try, per his home regimen (sort of…we don’t do canned veggies, meats packed in preservative-ladden juices and broths, or milk masquerading as “whole”) but all was in vain. One popsicle and he was “rejecting” again. Back to IV only and then a few hours later, “clears” again.
One FANTASTIC “village” friend (thanks Ms. Monkey Parade!) made homemade broth for him and jello made with juice. She got him popsicles that really ARE frozen fruit. I headed down the street to Starbucks and got him some juices sweetened without the nasties. So we’ve pretty much managed to outsource all his “clears”. The doctor I spoke with today (incidentally one of those “exceptions” to my gastro-rule) feels we are looking at some kind of extreme allergies. It is tragic to me that it’s likely the very hospital environment that should make him better will not have the options necessary to provide nutrition while we investigate.
It’s a building full of SICK people and all we eat in the country is food that is pretty much a chemical soup? Oops…I’m forgetting chemical popsicles, chemical sandwiches, vegetable dipped in chemical sauce. Doesn’t that sound healthy?
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on 18 Aug 2007 at 6:00 pm 1.Liquid Vitamins and Minerals said …
In today’s fast-paced, eat-on-the-run world, it’s not always easy to get all the nutrients you body needs. When your diet falls short, taking a natural supplement makes good sense.
on 18 Aug 2007 at 7:05 pm 2.Lori in Nj said …
You are so right!!! We’ve just come from two consecutive hospital visits and the food is quite nasty. At home we try to avoid the very things you do. Sometimes I bring organic juice to the hosptal and some other foods. Fortunately we don’t have the alergic reactions your Wheaton does to these additives, but we still hate ingesting them. I hate to admit it, but more often than not we end up eating the poison and feeling crumby for several days.
I’m so excited to have found your blog
on 18 Aug 2007 at 7:20 pm 3.MrPages said …
It’s all about money.
Now that health care is a big business rather than a care provider, everything is lowest-bidder provided.
You can get chemical laden garbage far cheaper than any sort of real food, so that’s what the dollar-driven corporations serve in their hospitals.
Sad, but true.
on 18 Aug 2007 at 7:53 pm 4.Sarah said …
Just wanted to say a late thank you for the carageenan post. We are now very strict about organic milk and only ice cream with ingredients that we actually recognize.
Isn’t it sad that it’s so hard, expensive and judged just to want real food?
on 18 Aug 2007 at 10:41 pm 5.dalimama said …
(((Tia))) I am happy to finally see these last two posts since I’ve been checking but your site wouldn’t load I’ll be praying for Wheaton and your family You sound like you have peace amidst this trial so I am thankful Let me know if there is any way I can help you Wish I was there to deliver you healthy meals and snacks
on 18 Aug 2007 at 11:33 pm 6.Queenofthehill said …
We had a very good experience with Children’s Hospital — and later a terrible experience with UT Hospital. Middle Son was so sick I couldn’t leave his room, my parents had my other child and the King was out of town. I once needed to go to the bathroom for something like 4 hours before coaxing a nurse to let me and went whole days with no food. The nurses were totally heartless. We were expected to somehow figure out how to clean the barf out of the floor — no one there would lift a finger.
You left out of your stereotype list that Neurosurgeons are “full of themselves” and have ZERO bedside manner. I loved ours anyway.
I am so sorry Wheaton is having troubles again.
on 19 Aug 2007 at 4:27 am 7.Colleen said …
Hey, Tia, just wanted you to know I stopped by. What can I say about the hospital food? What a pathetic reality that an institution intended to heal serves up so much that works against our natural system. Peace to you, sister. Love,
Colleen
on 19 Aug 2007 at 9:36 am 8.KMH said …
I’ve been praying too.
I have so much to learn from you. I guess I’ll start with archives now. Food additives make me shudder! I just haven’t spent enough time finding them all.
Kim H