Hospital cafeteria goes 'heart healthy' by removing fat, not carb-heavy foods?

Grilled cheese and carrot juice — a healthy lunch?

At some point or another in our lives, we’ve all had the unfortunate experience of finding ourselves inside of a hospital. Whether it is for us, a friend, or a family member, it’s just one of those inevitabilities in life that happens. You deal with it the best you can and that includes putting up with the infamous “hospital food.” Next to the school cafeteria, this has got to have the reputation for some pretty crummy choices for people who are attempting to live a healthy lifestyle.

But one of my readers shared with me something his local hospital is doing that will make you cringe (although not at all surprising!). He is an IT consultant for the hospital and was taking a break recently for breakfast when he noticed signs stating they’ve gone “Heart Healthy” beginning in January 2010. UH-OH! We all know what that means, don’t we? Yep. Livin’ la vida low-carb favorites are most likely history.

I’ve always looked forward to going down and getting my bacon and scrambled eggs in the morning with my friends, he said. Great and convenient way to get some fat in the morning.

But not anymore at this hospital. Predictably, they took away the bacon made from pork (replaced by turkey bacon — EWWW!) and also the mayonnaise. WHAT?! Wouldn’t surprise me if they banned butter and replaced it with that bastion of heart-healthiness known as margarine! At the same time, they did make one positive change as well when they pulled the sugary snacks and doughnuts from the menu as well. Admirable indeed.

Well, what did they KEEP on the menu that’s so “healthy?”

They have decided to keep the carb-rich hash browns, bagels and such, he continued. What’s even more CRAZY is they have kept the honey mustard, barbeque sauce and ketchup, too!!!

Oh, but don’t you know all of those foods are naturally “fat-free?” That’s gotta count for something no matter how much high-fructose corn syrup and sugar they put in them, right? The outrage of this is not lost on my very informed, but highly frustrated reader.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Mayonnaise has zero sugar and zero carbs, but they take it away from the menu? That doesn’t make any sense at all.

He decided to speak up about this with the manager over the hospital cafeteria explaining that he’s lost over 30 pounds and improved his entire lipid panel by following a healthy high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb nutritional approach. But the response he received was lackluster at best.

It was like talking to a brick wall, he recalled. She said I was on what is considered a “radical” diet. I said that I feel she has taken all the healthy choices away from me. She mentioned part of the reason they were doing this was because of sodium content in the bacon.

Round and round we go with excuse after excuse for removing perfectly healthy foods all in the name of going “heart healthy.” It’s amazing how truly ill-informed people are these days and in a hospital no less. The only thing “radical” about livin’ la vida low-carb is how incredibly well it works as my readers was trying to communicate to this member of management. This is why I believe education about what healthy really means is so critical to turning the tide of fat-phobia that pervades our society so deeply.

My reader was incredulous about this whole song and dance about why certain items were removed from the cafeteria food choices.

I really don’t believe it has anything to do with the salt content of the foods. Why did she take the mayonnaise away then? It’s the same old story — animal fat/saturated fat is bad for you.

That’s where we are in 2010 America, buddy. It’s sad and dismaying, but this is reality. People just don’t wanna be challenged on what they believe about healthy living and will cling to what they’ve always inherently “known” to be true even if the science doesn’t support it. He even sent her links to that recent study vindicating saturated fatin the hopes that it would “get her thinking.”

While she mulls over the evidence (or not), my reader has a new plan for breakfast when he’s working at the hospital.

I am making my own bacon in the morning filling my work area with the wonderful aroma of cooked bacon which everyone loves! I proudly take it down to the cafeteria, grab some eggs, and take a pass on the turkey bacon substitute. Oh yeah, I even bring my own mayonnaise too!

You go man! If they won’t accommodate you, then you gotta do what you gotta do. Too many uninformed people just settle for what they are being told is “heart healthy” when in fact most of those choices are doing more harm than good. Dietary fat from bacon, butter, and mayonnaise for example are not the evil villains they’ve been made out to be. The real culprit in heart disease is the inflammation brought on from excessive carbohydrate intake. Consuming lots of whole wheat breads, bagels, and fat-free condiments that are overloaded on carbs will only perpetuate the obesity and heart disease for many years to come.

Do you have a story you’d like to share about how your healthy low-carb lifestyle is being challenged out in the real world? I’d love to have you talk about it in the comments section below. While our particular point of view regarding a healthy diet may go against the norm, that’s no reason for us to compromise what we know is true. Consuming a high-fat as a percentage of total calories, adequate protein without going overboard, and low-carb limited to non-starchy veggies primarily diet is what our bodies need to be healthy and strong. NEVER compromise on what you know is right for you.