JohnEGreen
Master
This is what was on offer to a T2 diabetic, when my daughter and her partner visited a friend on Saturday.
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Yet another hospital food horror story
- Thread starter JohnEGreen
- Start Date
This is what was on offer to a T2 diabetic, when my daughter and her partner visited a friend on Saturday.
lucylocket61
Expert
??????
JohnEGreen
Master
@lucylocket61 Sorry file size was too large had to readjust .
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JohnEGreen
Master
Not only is the person T2 but has been diagnosed with cancer of the Kidney and high blood sugars have been interfering with planned ops.
When staff was asked do they not cater for diabetic patients the answer was no yet they cater for vegan diets and vegetarian and those with gluten intolerance.
Insane.
When staff was asked do they not cater for diabetic patients the answer was no yet they cater for vegan diets and vegetarian and those with gluten intolerance.
Insane.
D
Deleted Account
Guest
To start with, I have to say I do not eat low carb and do not believe there is such a think as a "diabetic diet" or even catering for "diabetic patients". There is such a thing as low carb diet but this is not specific to people with diabetes or something everyone with diabetes eats.
Given there is a choice, I do not think this is too bad.
You don't have to tick potatoes, sandwiches, bread rolls, ...
You can have steak and kidney pie and leave the pastry
You can have cheese and biscuits and leave the biscuits
You can have omelette or vegetarian sausages or salad
You can have mixed vegetables and pick out the lower carb ones
Just like when eating at home or eating out, when you eat a specific diet (low carb, vegetarian, gluten free, ...) you have to be a bit more creative.
Whilst I do not limit my diet, there is one thing missing from this menu which I would like to see - the carb count for the dishes.
For those eating low carb it will assist with decisions and those of us taking insulin will help with our doses.
I do not expect to see it in restaurants as it would add too much overhead and inflexibility. However, in a hospital, I believe this is something they should be aware of.
Given there is a choice, I do not think this is too bad.
You don't have to tick potatoes, sandwiches, bread rolls, ...
You can have steak and kidney pie and leave the pastry
You can have cheese and biscuits and leave the biscuits
You can have omelette or vegetarian sausages or salad
You can have mixed vegetables and pick out the lower carb ones
Just like when eating at home or eating out, when you eat a specific diet (low carb, vegetarian, gluten free, ...) you have to be a bit more creative.
Whilst I do not limit my diet, there is one thing missing from this menu which I would like to see - the carb count for the dishes.
For those eating low carb it will assist with decisions and those of us taking insulin will help with our doses.
I do not expect to see it in restaurants as it would add too much overhead and inflexibility. However, in a hospital, I believe this is something they should be aware of.
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Hi John, may I ask what you would have preferred to be on the list? I agree with others that there should be a carb count but at least there are some obviously lower carb things for those that prefer low carb. I don't think I would call this menu a horror story. It must be hard for hospitals to provide a variety of food to suit all. I note that the 'healthier eating' asterix is next to the potatoes though 
Not ideal but I could make a good meal from those choices- ham salad or plain omelet with large portion of veg a small portion of steamed potato and eat only half (I do eat potatoes in small amounts) cheese and biscuit don't eat the biscuit -
DavidGrahamJones
Well-Known Member
So hard that they provide for vegetarian, vegan, (diets of choice) plus Dairy Avoidance, Gluten Avoidance (diets of intolerance) plus Easier to chew (diets of necessity if you don't have teeth). I suppose people who choose to follow low carb to keep their BG down will at least be able to eat something.
Bluetit1802
Legend
My husband brought food in for me when I was hospitalised 12 months ago. Not entirely due to my low carb, but also because what they provided was disgusting. Bland cardboard, badly cooked, luke warm, bread curling at the edges. Truly inedible.
Rokaab
Well-Known Member
They've been mainstream for a long time now
Necessary for those of us inflicted with them - mind you it can still be tricky - last time I was in hospital my breakfast was 45-60 mins later than anyone else cos they had to go find some gluten-free cereal - good job I didn't pre-bolus as normal huh!
Yep necessary again
Low carb - not mainstream and not seen my many doctors as useful thus far (afaik) - so until those ideas change I'm guessing the low carb options may well be limited.
Robinredbreast
Oracle
I was in hospital 5 months ago, I couldn't and didn't want to eat a lot and I ticked mainly soup for tea time, no bread or rolls ( gluten free), sandwiches, salads and vegetarian options. Lunchtime was a dinner, I remember casseroles, other meat dishes and the veg and potatoes or rice were separate and you could tick the portion size too, but no sauces on the menu. For breakfast were juice's, cereal, toast, scrambled eggs, I tried the eggs, but couldn't eat it, so they used to get me a yogurt instead, because I asked. Lots of variety on the menu's.
Coeliac was written on the top of my menu's. Fruit was available too.
Coeliac was written on the top of my menu's. Fruit was available too.
Robinredbreast
Oracle
Being coeliac can be horrendous, if eaten, I vomit non stop, Insulin levels can drop dramatically, so I can't eat or drink anything to get it back up, because it makes me vomit again and it can be dangerous.
I concur with you, having medical conditions must be adhered to, it is a necessity.
LooperCat
Expert
Not a choice for everyone. I’m actually allergic to meat. And dairy. So that’s a medical condition that needs catering for.
Robinredbreast
Oracle
Being coeliac means I have to adhere to a strict gluten, wheat, barley, rye and oat free diet, for life. eating anything like this will make me extremely ill, non stop vomiting and can put me in a dangerous position regarding extremely low blood sugar levels. It's a 100% necessity !
Bluetit1802
Legend
There are vegan choices though - no meat, no dairy.
Robinredbreast
Oracle
Being diagnosed with cancer is a very worrying time, my best wishes go to the person you mentioned.
Pinkorchid
Well-Known Member
My husband has been in hospital twice this year and the food was good with plenty of choice but portions were quite small so not huge amounts of carbs and he managed fine but he is not very low carb and will eat small portions of new potatoes and most vegetables I did take him Bergen sandwiches in case he was peckish in between. He was never asked if he wanted a diabetic meal so I presume they did not do them. I suppose because there is no specific diet for diabetes as all are different and eat different things so not very cost effective to do low carb meals if only a minority would want it.
DavidGrahamJones
Well-Known Member
This from the BBC, so it must be true. LOL
An estimated three million people in the UK have tried the controversial Atkins Diet, suggests a poll.
However, the poll, conducted on behalf of ITV, found that 7% of men and 10% of women had given it a try.
Not sure what constitutes mainstream but the number of people who have tried just Atkins is pretty significant. These figures don't even count just plain old low carb. Obviously that number aren't continuously on Atkins but I think the numbers suggest that low carb is no more unusual than vegan.
Research by comparethemarket.com uncovered how many people living in the UK identify as vegan, finding that the number has jumped dramatically since 2016. Data circulated two years ago which said that 542,000 people aged 15 and over – just over one percent of the population – identified as vegan. The information also showed that 1.14 million people in Britain were vegetarian.
However, the most recent data now states that an impressive 7% of the UK’s population is now vegan, suggesting a 700% increase in the past two years alone. Further, 14% of Britain’s population – more than seven million people – are now vegetarian.
Looks like vegan and vegetarian are more mainstream now than they were two years ago.
