dear mr hospital

do mountains intimidate you?  how about large hills?

i guess it depends on how you feel about heights.

the below letter was recently written by my girlfriend catherine, one of my real-food partners in crime.  

thank you for letting me share it today!

i'm pretty sure palos community hospital is not alone in offering cheap, less.than.desirable.fake.food choices to those who require low sugar, nutrient dense, whole food the most.  i wonder how many letters from concerned patients and families have been penned and sent?

wake up mr hospital food.    

you're on a fake food tippy top that needs a food revolution pronto.

***

To Whom it May Concern,

I just returned home from a visit with my mother-in-law at Palos Community Hospital.  During my visit, the doctors and nurses were all very friendly and helpful, but I was confused about what she was served for lunch.   During her visit with the doctor, he told her that he was increasing the dosage for her high blood sugar medication.  About an hour later, her lunch was brought in complete with pasta, meatballs, white bread, steamed veggies, juice cocktail (high fructose corn syrup was the second ingredient), chocolate milk, and ice cream.  I have to say that these last three items are banned from my house, not only because they are high in sugar, but because they are processed foods, and unhealthy.

So I am not asking why my mother-in-law, whose medication was just increased for high blood sugar, was given a very high sugar lunch, but I am wondering why the hospital would give anybody such a high sugar lunch.  As health professionals you must know that it is sugar that leads to diabetes and obesity.  I noticed that the lunch aimed to be low-fat, but recent science has proven that it is not fat (at least healthy fat from healthy animals, nuts, etc) that causes obesity and disease, but artificial fat and sugar.  I also noticed unhealthy preservatives in the "butter."

According to the book, "Spark" by John Ratey, "65 percent of our nation's adults are are overweight or obese, and 10 percent of the population has type 2 diabetes, a preventable and ruinous disease that stems from inactivity and poor nutrition."  (p.4)  As an institution of health, I would think that Palos Community Hospital would be interested in making patients well, not just with medication, but also with the foods they serve and promote.  I am wondering if there is a plan to make meals at Palos Hospital lower in sugar, higher in fiber, and less-processed.  Perhaps that juice cocktail, ice cream, and chocolate milk could be replaced with an apple?

Thank you so much for your time,

Catherine Shannon

***

rock on sister sledge!

is there hope for a real food revolution in hospitals?!  check out these inspiring links:

uno - a video of a doctor who talks real food
dos - a radio interview with OHSU's Steven Hiatt

fists up high and tight to those healing hospitals for pitching the fake food OUT!

xoxo