Hospital Food

Dear Joan,

Many thanks. I had a vague memory that there was a good reason to avoid diet gelatin. I was hoping to get some advice here! That's one of the reason why I specifically included it in my message.

Best regards,

David

 Most people don't have a problem with artificial sweeteners especially the miniscule amounts it takes to sweeten our food.   You can make your own diet gelatin with whatever sweetener you like.  Knox gelatin, your sweetener of choice (I use 8 drops of Sweetzfree myself,) and a flavoring extract or unsweetened packet of Koolaid.

I was not familiar with Sweetzfree so had to look this up on the web, and found it is made solely from 100% pure Sucralose.

Sucralose'spatent process adds chlorine atoms to sucrose (table sugar). It is sold under the trade name Splenda. An eye-opening study on sucralose published in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health revealed that sucralose reduces the amount of good bacteria in the intestines by 50%, increases the pH level in the intestines.

A good enough answer appeared in the following article published in the

Beverage Daily dated 25 September 2008.

www.beveragedaily.com/Industry-Markets/Splenda-may-damage-gut-bacteria-boost-weight-gain-study

The Duke University researchers separated 50 male Sprague-Dawley rats into five equal groups. One group was administered only water with its diet, thereby acting as the control group, while the other four groups had the diet supplemented with different doses of Splenda in water. The doses used were 100, 300, 500, and 1,000 mg of Splenda per kg of body weight per day, equivalent to sucralose

Moreover, Professor Abou-Donia told FoodNavigator.com that the study was performed with rats because they are the animal of choice for such studies. "The studies that were submitted for the approval of Splenda to the FDA were mostly performed in rats," he said. "The Acceptable Daily Limit (ADI) approved by the FDA, was based on studies in rats."

The study protocol was approved by the Duke University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).  After 12 weeks, half of the animals in each group were sacrificed and the cytochrome P-450 (CYP) metabolism system and membrane efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) were measured. Both P-gp and CYP are known to impact on the bioavailability of orally consumed compounds, such as drugs and nutrients.  The remaining animals spent a further 12 weeks without any Splenda in the diet.

Results

"Professor Abou-Donia and his co-workers report that, at the end of the initial 12 weeks, significant reductions in the levels of so-called beneficial bacteria were observed. Specifically, the numbers of total anaerobes was decreased by 50 per cent, relative to the control animals, while bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, and Bacteroides were reduced by 37, 39, and 67.5 per cent respectively. "

A better option , in my opinion ,would be Sweet Fiber Zero Calorie Sweetener Inulin & Luo Han Guo Shaker . This has zero calories, and is all natural

Inulin is the source of the fiber. It is extracted with hot water from the chicory root. The sweetness comes from Luo Han Guo, a sweet tasting fruit known for its healing properties for centuries.

Actually Sweetzfree is mostly water just like Splenda is mostly maltodextrin and/or dextrose.  The amount of sucralose is so tiny that it has to be bulked with something for you to be able to measure it.  Thus, the amount of chlorine involved is miniscule compared to that in the table salt we might add at just one meal.

I'm sure there are people that have allergic or other reactions to sucralose or aspartame but most of us don't have a problem with them.  I guess you can always add  stevia, or even 100% fructose to your diet gelatin but i prefer sucralose or a blend of sucralose and stevia when I make it.

I'm a Type 2 Diabetic and have a multitude of other ailments on top of this.  I also had an unusual experience with hospital food.  I was rushed to the hospital on 5 days after I was hit from behind in my car at a stop light.  I was there for about 4 or 5 days and sent home.  The thing is, the whole time I was there, my blood sugars were absolutely normal before and after meals.  The doctor came in and asked me, "Who told you that you were diabetic?".  I replied, "Both my old and my new primary care physician.  Why?"  What he said next floored me!  He said, "From the moment you were admitted here until now you blood sugars have been normal and we've had you on the equivilent of a candy bar a day too.  I do not think you are a diabetic.".  You could of heard a pin drop for about 1 minute.  I was speachless.  Then I told him, "If I'm not diabetic, then why are my blood sugar test results at home always between 140 - 400+?".  He said because I'm probably eating the wrong foods.  I told him I eat the same things I've been eating in the hospital with no cheating.  No sweets, no chips, no junk at all.  Not even sodas.  I always drink water and maybe too much of it and all my meals are made from scratch.  Never processed foods.

I guess my question is...

What am I doing wrong and how do I make meals exactly like the hospitals food without artificial sweeteners in it?

I no longer use any artificial sweeteners, only Washed Raw Sugar and very, very little of that.  Only 1/8 tsp is more than enough on my Cheerios in the morning.

If anyone can help figure out or find recipes on how to make my food the same way the hospital made it for me, I would be most appreciative.

Thank you and have an awesome day!

MelissaS1

Dear Melissa,

That's certainly strange! The first thing I would do is get a new meter and test strips and test 2 hours after the first bite of each meal.

Also, I'm concerned about your breakfast. Not so much the sugar, although you can do much better with stevia, and it is natural, not artificial. But my concern is with your breakfast cereal. Almost all cereals have a high glycemic index and that of Cheerios is no exception at about 74 (where pure glucose is 100). Eating a breakfast cereal for breakfast really gets our blood glucose levels off to fast starts!

Best regards,

David