Hospital Dietary Guidelines
Are they looking for repeat customers?
If you know me by now, you know I am not a fan of the Standard American Diet.
I decided to not blindly follow the US dietary recommendations which I believe are biased and most likely due to big business and government too intertwined. I follow my own observations and instincts. Perhaps you should as well?
So I guess I get a bit triggered when someone gets discharged from a hospital with the following dietary recommendations.
Read-em and weep and I truly mean weep!
General Healthy Diet Guidelines (as per local hospital recommendations)
Aim for 20-30 g/day of dietary fiber - Good sources are fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dried beans.
Include at least 5 servings of fruits & vegetables and 3 servings (3 oz) of whole grains per day.
Try meatless alternatives
Eggs, fish, poultry, beans, peas, soy-based foods, low-fat dairy-based foods, nuts and nut butters
Reduce salt intake (keep to less than 2300 mg per day).
Avoid processed foods, eat more fresh foods. Eat less salt at the table and when cooking.
Limit your daily sugar intake
Sources include honey, syrup, jelly, sugar-sweetened beverages (soda pop, iced tea, sports drinks), fruit juice, sugary snacks and candy.
It is better to eat unsaturated fats than saturated fats. Avoid trans fats as much as possible.
Unsaturated fat is found in fish, avocado, nuts and oils (olive, avocado, sunflower, canola)
Saturated fats include: fatty meats, poultry skin, bacon, sausage, whole milk/ ice cream/cheese, cream, butter, lard, palm and coconut oil
Trans fats may be found in: stick margarine, shortening, some fried foods, and packaged foods made with “partially hydrogenated oil”
Eat more omega 3 fats
Sources include salmon, tuna, mackerel, lake trout, sardines, herring. walnuts, flaxseed, chia seed, canola and soybean oil.
Let me address these as best I can without upchucking.
Aim for 20-30 g/day of dietary fiber - Good sources are fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dried beans.
Include at least 5 servings of fruits & vegetables and 3 servings (3 oz) of whole grains per day.
The data on dietary fiber is weak. I am not the only one saying this.
https://denversdietdoctor.com/dr-zoe-harcombe-what-about-fiber/
I was actually at Zoe's lecture live in Denver in 2019. She is a great speaker. I urge you to watch these fact and data based presentations.
I have seen in practice that too little dietary fiber can cause some GI slow down while too much dietary fiber can cause bloating, flatulence and IBS. The secret to fiber is to get the least amount that helps your Gut clear toxins while allowing your bowels to move easily. This is a trial and error approach and can be different for each individual.
What about the fiber choices?
Fruits
Veggies
Whole grains
Dried beans
Which of the above you choose can be dependent upon your food sensitivities. I am mostly keto carnivore and have very little of the above. I figured out over the past 4 years that even though leafy greens get such great propaganda, umm publicity, they do not agree with me. Interestingly, below ground veggies like potatoes, yams, carrots, onion and garlic do. I think it has something to do with the excess fiber content in leafy greens. So ask yourself how you truly feel with lots of fiber vs little fiber.
Following the hospital dietary recommendations are a bit carb heavy. There is no protein or fat in fruit (don't avocado me).
Many people do not tolerate a whole lot of plant food as they contain many anti-nutrients and can be inflammatory.
Others tolerate plant food very well. So I often suggest to avoid certain food types such as grains, dairy, gluten or plant foods in general for 30 days and see how you feel. Then add them back and see if you notice any difference, good or bad. Individualize your diet. What works for others may or not work for you, but a picture can sometimes say it better…………
But I can tell you from clinical experience that a top down one size fits all diet recommendation from a hospital protocol rarely works in real life.
To be continued:::
What’s a post without some healthy food pics?
A wasted post!
My dinner the other night.
Not much fiber and oh so delicious!
A few keys to grilling a good ribeye.
Let the meat get to room temperature before grilling
Preheat grill as high as you can. I get my outside grill to almost 600 degrees
Season the meat with salt and whatever spices you enjoy. Don’t chince on the salt. I like salt, white pepper, garlic, onion and chili powder, smoked sweet paprika and chimichurri seasoning. Sounds like a lot, but whoa, tastes amazing.
Try and time the meat so you only flip 3 times before taking it off the grill. This will enable great criss-cross grill marks for presentation.
After removing from grill, let the meat sit on a plate for about 5 minutes. This allows the juices in the meat to come out and makes the meat tender and juicy.
Yes, it was as good as it looks!
What is your secret to making a great steak?
Please leave it in the comments below.
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I prefer the reverse sear method for really thick steaks (1.5 inches thick or more like a porterhouse). Heat the grill to about 250 and indirect heat. Season steak and put on the grill cold. When the steak temp reaches around 95-100 degrees, take off and cover with foil. Crank up the grill to 450-600 and direct heat. Once up to temp, put the steak back on. After 2 minutes, rotate steak 45 degrees to get those great looking crosshatch marks. After another 2 minutes, flip and repeat. Watch temperature and remove at desire doneness. usually in the 125 to 135 degrees range for medium rare to medium. I like this method since it allows time for the center to cook a bit without drying everything out.
I even do this on a pellet grill, although I also use grill grates to get higher temps (grillgrate.com).
I dry our steaks well and sprinkle heavily w salt. I then sear them (sear unit of grill) a min per side. then bake in cast iron skillet where I’ve melted butter and sautéed garlic 4-5 mins @400. I baste steaks and let them rest.