Great initiative by the American Medical Association

[Jebus]

Baby steps, baby steps. . .

RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association hereby call on US hospitals to
improve the health of patients, staff, and visitors by (1) providing and promoting
plant-based meals that are low in fat, sodium, and added sugars for hospital
patients, staff, and visitors, and (2) eliminating the use of processed meats from
patient menus. (Directive to Take Action)

Full article> https://www.ama-assn.org/sites/default/files/media-browser/public/yps/a17-yps-d-final-grid.pdf

[NonZeroSum]

Baby steps, baby steps. . .

RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association hereby call on US hospitals to
improve the health of patients, staff, and visitors by (1) providing and promoting
plant-based meals that are low in fat, sodium, and added sugars for hospital
patients, staff, and visitors, and (2) eliminating the use of processed meats from
patient menus. (Directive to Take Action)

Full article> https://www.ama-assn.org/sites/default/files/media-browser/public/yps/a17-yps-d-final-grid.pdf

What about comfort foods when your dying of a non-diet related illness and need your spirits lifting!? Aha, Plant based and cutting out processed meat is great win, but I wouldn't want them serving old people oatmeal day in day out because they would loose their will to live and come out with dementia they didn't have when they went in with too many changes.

Low fat is my biggest concern, some frail people need bulking up when they go into hospital to get some rest and recovery. If it's just the requirement to provide an option of low fat, low sodium, that's great.

[Jebus]

Plant based and cutting out processed meat is great win, but I wouldn't want them serving old people oatmeal day in day out because they would loose their will to live and come out with dementia they didn't have when they went in with too many changes.

Low fat is my biggest concern, some frail people need bulking up when they go into hospital to get some rest and recovery. If it's just the requirement to provide an option of low fat, low sodium, that's great.

So what would you serve them if it were your choice?

[NonZeroSum]

Plant based and cutting out processed meat is great win, but I wouldn't want them serving old people oatmeal day in day out because they would loose their will to live and come out with dementia they didn't have when they went in with too many changes.

Low fat is my biggest concern, some frail people need bulking up when they go into hospital to get some rest and recovery. If it's just the requirement to provide an option of low fat, low sodium, that's great.

So what would you serve them if it were your choice?

I'm not well read on nutrition, I've just been in a lot of hospitals and seen a lot of frail whispy old people, I think the recommendations come from a good place of setting a good example about a healthy diet that they should keep up when they get home, I just wouldn't want them to skimp on fat or taste for the reasons suggested above.

Obviously ideally they'd be able to tailor a diet plan to the patient. I don't know that hospitals wouldn't just ignore the low fat recommendation for low BMI patients, and it's about offering options which I'd support. I just think anyone who has to apply this or any carnists who get wind of this will see it as ideological and not based on strong research as to a properly planned diet, based on the two flaws I suggested, it could be a Pyrrhic victory for veganism.

[smburdi]

This is such an interesting subject. I just want to say, I work in a Skilled Nursing Facility, and my mom is a nurse at a major hospital in Washington state, and I find that there are huge differences in diet philosophy between the facilities and the types of clients they are serving. I've noticed hospitals are much more progressive. The one my mother works at promotes a plant-based "eat more diet," but I've looked at the recipe book, and it is ALL Vegan recipes with the exception of optional honey which is easily substituted. There is even a Vegan quiche; it is extremely varied. In fact, major medical corporations like Kaiser Permanente are also promoting a plant based diet under the "eat more" category.

Where I work, the diet is very calorically dense because (as a previous poster mentioned) there are a lot of elderly people who don't eat much, and are unable to maintain a healthy body weight, so the idea is to give them as many calories as possible. Unfortunately, for every one of those "frail, wispy" people there are several diabetic people who over consume and, due to their age, are extremely inactive. The diet in SNF's certainly does not serve these people, but they generally tend to be non-compliant with diet recommendations anyway. I will also mention that I have observed most of the time weight is actually maintained using health shakes because it is easier for older people to consume and digest.

*By the way, I signed up for this forum awhile back and introduced myself, but this is my first post since.*

[NonZeroSum]

This is such an interesting subject. I just want to say, I work in a Skilled Nursing Facility, and my mom is a nurse at a major hospital in Washington state, and I find that there are huge differences in diet philosophy between the facilities and the types of clients they are serving. . .

Really fab insights smburdi, thanks so much. Do you have any inkling how far reaching the AMA's directives will go? Whether all hospitals will really shift dramatically to low fat meals every day. The shakes sound like a great idea and that's hard about people being uncooperative, do they usually have more than one option in general with meals? I'm also in the UK so not clear at all on how the health service is run in the US.

[smburdi]

Do you have any inkling how far reaching the AMA's directives will go? Whether all hospitals will really shift dramatically to low fat meals every day... do they usually have more than one option in general with meals? I'm also in the UK so not clear at all on how the health service is run in the US.

So, I just kind of read over the article, and basically, anytime they put "Resolved" before an issue, it seems like they believe they have taken adequate measures to promote their proposed policy. I would say, from my observations, most of their recommendations/requirements are met. (I'll note, off topic, that patient-first language is not always employed by physicians, but there are financial incentives to improve patient-reported customer satisfaction, so maybe that will play into it?) I don't want to speak for the whole of the United States, but this definitely seems to be the case in Washington. Hospital food choices are pretty healthy (as they mentioned: low-sodium, low fat, no processed meats, vegetarian options available, etc.), but other health care facilities do not have to follow the same guidelines, and cost/ the bottom-line really affects the types of food places carry. At my work for example, there is always technically an alternate meal offered, but it is never more healthy or vegetarian (it's basically the choice between chicken or beef). They often serve high sodium meals and processed meats. I literally can't eat anything served by our kitchen.

Unfortunately, physicians and other health care professionals can suggest plant-based, low sodium diets and cutting out unnecessary sugary drinks until they are blue in the face, but we really need a social shift. I mean, in a society where you can claim "Bacon!" as a counter-culture, there is a serious problem. It's kind of like when they really started encouraging people to stop using tobacco products because there was/is significant evidence that it is bad for your health, but many people still continued to smoke anyway for a really long time, until anti-smoking social movements became more relevant, and suddenly it was very 'uncool' to be caught with a cigarette in your mouth, so the number of smokers decreased dramatically. There will need to be, in my opinion, a popularization of promotion for plant-based diets in things like mass media because this sadly influences more people's perspectives than a physician's suggestions.

That being said, the regulations encouraged by the AMA that are actually enacted (like banning sugary drinks/ energy drinks from public schools) are still very affective, I just don't see it being enough to really make people change their habits.