Nutritional Value Of Hospital Food: Vitamin C Levels Well Below Published Standa

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Nutritional Value Of Hospital Food: Vitamin C Levels Well Below

Published Standard

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=54550

Substantial nutrient loss in food occurs in hospital foodservice

operations, according to research recently published in the Journal

of Foodservice. The study quantifies how much Vitamin C, as a marker

of nutrient quality, is retained at various stages of processing at

two New Jersey hospitals.

The nutrient quality of Vitamin C was significantly reduced as a

food sample progressed to patients - by as much as 86% at a hospital

in an inner-city neighborhood. Since many nutrients, including

Vitamin C, degrade at high temperatures, this loss may be result

from food being heated to a temperature much higher than recommended

by hospital foodservice so as to still be warm when served to

patients.

As improved nutritional status correlates with faster healing and

recovery, leading to reduced hospital stays, hospitals need improved

cooking methods to reduce the loss of nutrients in foods served to

patients. Physicians, dietitians, and menu planners rely on

published standard nutritional values, but these standards are

derived from experiments made in ideal conditions and fail to

consider the various handling, holding, and delivery methods that

are common in hospitals. A more vigorous approach to patient

nutrition is needed, both in terms of food preparation methods and

in assessing the actual nutritional status of patients.

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This study appears in the June issue of the Journal of Foodservice.

Lead author Dr. Feldman is a professor at the Department of

Health and Nutrition Sciences at Montclair State University.