Just not right

[Kaylz]

When on insulin or in fact even as a Type 2 there is no 'wrong foods', its a case of moderation is key, I'm fed up of people assuming as I'm diabetic I shouldn't be eating certain things etc, nobody knows the circumstances of these people or anything so folk should just leave them be, what if in fact the gentleman in this thread are members of the forum and have seen all of this, think how awful they would feel, if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say it at all, that's always what I've been taught, you may have your own opinions, fine, but leave it at that, don't publicly criticise people!!

 

[Grogg1]

Grogg - could you not make up a bottle - or if you have some smaller ones, several - of properly diluted fruit squash for your OH?

He's a pain he hates squash so I made up a bottle of water and put some fresh strawberries in and I take it and in a sports bottle and he is now drinking one of them a day. He says it makes the water bearable!!!

I take him fresh fruit daily but he finds grapes easiest to eat given his position and that he can just pull one off without looking.

The only meal that is huge is chicken breast day!! Honestly they are huge. Aside from Sunday lunch it's his favourite. Tonight was fish in batter. He loathes hospital chips though so asked for double veg instead which unfortunately were peas!! Easting peas while lying flat is a challenge but he made a sterling effort!! He thought it would be broccoli as that seems to be the hospital's most regular veg!!

 

[Grogg1]

The thing is you can educate people all you like but you can’t force them to do what is good for themt.

But that's my real issue the advice given by DN isn't always the best advice and hospital food isn't the healthiest! Many people will not research and find their own way to forums such as this and rely on advice from DN. When I was diagnosed I was not advised to try low carb but I found this forum and then my DN offered me her low carb book!!

 

[Maz2]

Sadly, it's the case that a very large number of people are completely unaware of how their meal choices can affect their blood sugar levels, and the problems this can build up for them down the line, even when the evidence is in front of them The statistics on complications are dreadful, particularly since it is believed that up to 80% can be avoidable with the right knowledge of how to manage things better. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who have been told that increasing medication and complications are inevitable, and that even then they are fighting a losing battle This is truly scandalous and will only continue until proper education and resources are made available, both for healthcare professionals and the people they treat.

Wow. I did not realise people were still being told this sort of thing these days especially as there is so much knowledge now that a good diet can help control blood sugars.

 

[Maz2]

What an absolute disgrace for hospitals to be feeding carb heavy meals to known diabetics. Surely they of all people should know how to feed patients. What are the dieticians playing at.

 

[Kaylz]

What an absolute disgrace for hospitals to be feeding carb heavy meals to known diabetics. Surely they of all people should know how to feed patients. What are the dieticians playing at.

This grinds my goat, potatoes etc are still part of a 'healthy' diet that the NHS intend to get out, just be mindful of portion sizes there is a 'no food is off bound' to diabetics!

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

When I was first diagnosed and in hospital, I remember being given a sultana suet pudding and custard, it was delicious, but I limited myself to 4 mouthfuls, fortunately my son was there to polish it off, as I sat on my hands (and wanted to wrestle it away!).

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

This grinds my goat, potatoes etc are still part of a 'healthy' diet that the NHS intend to get out, just be mindful of portion sizes there is a 'no food is off bound' to diabetics!

I agree Kaylz, but I think we've all been in situations where we've felt frustrated by the food choices on offer, because thay are so different to what we would normally aim for. And while I wholeheartedly agree that no food should be considered absolutely 'off limits', I know that there are foods which are easier for me to eat, and those which more or less guarantee BG chaos (and let's not forget that unpredictable and/or elevated BG don't help the healing process). And if I'm going to eat something that I know from experience is trickier to handle, I want it to be a reeeeeally nice version of whatever it is. I don't want to endure the BG upheaval for a rubbish dry and tasteless cardboard cake. If I'm choosing it, I want it to be worth it 🙂

I was at a buffet party once and literally the whole table was beige. These are dear friends of mine, and it was a fantastic party, but food-wise I just had to recognise that there were no 'safe' options available. Everything was breaded, pastried and carbed. There wasn't a bowl of salad, or some cheese and cold meats that I could have alongside whichever carby unguessables I chose. I was fine, as I could dose to cover it, but as expected BG chaos ensued.

I also chose the 'diabetic meal' on a long aeroplane flight once. I won't do it again. Next to me people were eating lovely green things and grilled meats, and I had a box of beige (without carb-counted labels) which was trying its hardest to have no fat in it at all, but plenty of carbs.

The other thing that strikes me about hospital food, is the way people who may have little guidance to their own diabetes management might interpret the food they are being offered as the ideal way to eat.

 

[Robin]

I attended a lecture on healthy eating some years ago ( in the 80's) when the low fat mantra was first introduced, and the dietitian was advocating lean meat, veg, healthy wholegrains, pulses, etc, all nutritious foods, and someone asked the question, 'Why don't you serve this sort of food in hospitals, instead of all the refined low-nutrition carbs?' She replied, in a patronising tone, 'The most important thing in hospital is that you eat to give you energy, therefore we serve the sort of food that you're familiar with, that you would all eat at home.' There was a collective wail from the audience, 'But we don't eat that sort of rubbish at home!!!'

 

[Amigo]

I attended a lecture on healthy eating some years ago ( in the 80's) when the low fat mantra was first introduced, and the dietitian was advocating lean meat, veg, healthy wholegrains, pulses, etc, all nutritious foods, and someone asked the question, 'Why don't you serve this sort of food in hospitals, instead of all the refined low-nutrition carbs?' She replied, in a patronising tone, 'The most important thing in hospital is that you eat to give you energy, therefore we serve the sort of food that you're familiar with, that you would all eat at home.' There was a collective wail from the audience, 'But we don't eat that sort of rubbish at home!!!'

We need ‘energy’ in hospital? I must have missed the afternoon Ward discos!

 

[Grogg1]

This grinds my goat, potatoes etc are still part of a 'healthy' diet that the NHS intend to get out, just be mindful of portion sizes there is a 'no food is off bound' to diabetics!

This will often depend on what medication you are on and T2 who are more diet/exercise control, not insulin, find it harder to deal with many foods.

I'm T2 and on just 1 metformin a day due to dietary choices that control my BG and while potatoes are not off limits for me how they are cooked/served makes a huge difference to me. I cannot eat chips, chips spike my BG and I have no method/medication of getting my BG back down due to the way my diabetes works. I can only eat very small portions of mashed potatoes if it's creamed with a generous helping of butter. However I can eat a jacket potato providing I eat all the skin. I've learnt this through testing my blood sugar before/after meals. So hospital meals that offer potatoes covering half the plate with every meal is a disaster for me.

So while I agree no food should be considered banned it's extremely challenging if you are stuck in hospital for an extended period and all the food on offer is food that spikes your BG and you cannot adjust your medication to account for it and hospitals should be mindful of this and provide a diet that is appropriate for those managing a serious health condition with diet. It would hopefully save the NHS in the long run

 

[Bubbsie]

We need ‘energy’ in hospital? I must have missed the afternoon Ward discos!

Really made me laugh.

 

[Mark Parrott]

I'm dreading ever having to stay in hospital.

 

[bamba]

We need ‘energy’ in hospital? I must have missed the afternoon Ward discos!

Are those the prawn flavoured ones ?

 

[Amigo]

Are those the prawn flavoured ones ?

They’re on the trolley the WRVS women bring round with the rest of the carby goodies!

 

[Kaylz]

This will often depend on what medication you are on and T2 who are more diet/exercise control, not insulin, find it harder to deal with many foods.

I'm T2 and on just 1 metformin a day due to dietary choices that control my BG and while potatoes are not off limits for me how they are cooked/served makes a huge difference to me. I cannot eat chips, chips spike my BG and I have no method/medication of getting my BG back down due to the way my diabetes works. I can only eat very small portions of mashed potatoes if it's creamed with a generous helping of butter. However I can eat a jacket potato providing I eat all the skin. I've learnt this through testing my blood sugar before/after meals. So hospital meals that offer potatoes covering half the plate with every meal is a disaster for me.

So while I agree no food should be considered banned it's extremely challenging if you are stuck in hospital for an extended period and all the food on offer is food that spikes your BG and you cannot adjust your medication to account for it and hospitals should be mindful of this and provide a diet that is appropriate for those managing a serious health condition with diet. It would hopefully save the NHS in the long run

You do know that even insulin dependants have troubles as well right? As you don't seem to think that we do, it's not all plain sailing and just a case of adjusting our medication! We still suffer spikes no matter how hard we try not to!

 

[Amigo]

When I was in hospital with a very serious infection (unknowingly being fuelled by diabetes and leukaemia), I was left food whilst I was having tests and scans. I came back to a plate with the biggest, greasiest cheese and onion pasty, potato wedges and a dessert of treacle sponge and custard. That followed the sandwiches for lunch and the toast and cereal for breakfast.
Sometimes there is actually food type 2’s shouldn’t have and that culinary fayre is pretty much up there.

 

[trophywench]

Well - we have so many different dietary expectations amongst ourselves it's hardly surprising that hospital food has to be bland, apart from the fact the NHS has to fund it as well as everything else.

Look how many Asian people there are for starters - say it's Ramadan (yes I know when you're ill you don't have to fast) but there are many vegetarian sects - I wonder how ell ANY vegetarian or vegan is catered for, especially if they happen to be diabetic or coeliac into the bargain?

Well the Indians used to bring their rellies meals in with the visitors and the smell was always fab! - but there again I was a visitor too and wasn't feeling ill.

 

[Amigo]

Well - we have so many different dietary expectations amongst ourselves it's hardly surprising that hospital food has to be bland, apart from the fact the NHS has to fund it as well as everything else.

Look how many Asian people there are for starters - say it's Ramadan (yes I know when you're ill you don't have to fast) but there are many vegetarian sects - I wonder how ell ANY vegetarian or vegan is catered for, especially if they happen to be diabetic or coeliac into the bargain?

Well the Indians used to bring their rellies meals in with the visitors and the smell was always fab! - but there again I was a visitor too and wasn't feeling ill.

I don’t understand why the NHS is required to feed us for free because we’d need to pay to eat at home. When I’ve been in hospital, the Asian community have always brought food in for their relatives which for cultural reasons I can understand but serving up carb laden food (especially breakfasts) which could actually be injurious to health and glucose control is just crazy! The sweet rice pudding was marked as diabetic friendly on the menu when I was in.

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

If I'm unfortunate to need a hospital admission I'm going to have to take my digital scales with me, so i can carb count and I am ruddy well going to have whatever the pudding is and custard