Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Nurse Follies: I (Heart) Triple Bypass Surgery

It's that time of year when folks around the hospital flex their fundraising muscles for the annual AHA Heart Walk. I didn't realize how big a deal it was until I became a nurse and wasn't so focused on school. This is a REALLY BIG DEAL. Teams are formed. Fundraisers out the wazoo. I've seen auctions for dates (usually with annoying residents and nurses), raffles for various arts and crafts, vote for cutest pet/baby/etc, jewelry, but the most popular fundraisers have something to do with food.

The American Heart Association makes these recommendations on their website for dietary guidelines.

-> Vegetables and fruits are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber — and they’re low in calories.
-> Unrefined whole-grain foods contain fiber that can help lower your blood cholesterol and help you feel full, which may help you manage your weight.
-> Eat fish at least twice a week. Recent research shows that eating oily fish containing omega-3 fatty acids (for example, salmon, trout, and herring) may help lower your risk of death from coronary artery disease.
-> Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without added saturated and trans fat.
-> Select fat-free, 1 percent fat, and low-fat dairy products.
-> Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce trans fat in your diet.
-> Cut back on foods high in dietary cholesterol. Aim to eat less than 300 milligrams of cholesterol each day.
-> Cut back on beverages and foods with added sugars.
-> Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt. Aim to eat less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day.
-> If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation. That means one drink per day if you’re a woman and two drinks per day if you’re a man.

Fundraisers around the hospital, however, include the sale of the following:
-> Fudge and chocolate dipped confections
-> Breakfast burritos
-> Nachos
-> Hot dogs
-> Frozen custard
-> Pizza
-> Cookies, Cakes ala Bake Sale

I don't think we'll be seeing a fundraiser featuring broccoli or shredded wheat anytime soon..not unless it's swaddled in melted cheese or chocolate.
Methinks that anyone who actually participates in the Heart Walk is not only doing so to benefit the AHA, but sort of needs to in order to walk off all the crap they ate in the name of charitable contribution.
Provided they haven't been wheeled into a cath lab first.

1 comment:

Xavier Onassis said...

LOL!

I think you left off a couple:

Fundraisers around the hospital, however, include the sale of the following:
-> Fudge and chocolate dipped confections
-> Breakfast burritos
-> Nachos
-> Hot dogs
-> Frozen custard
-> Pizza
-> Cookies, Cakes ala Bake Sale
-> A carton of menthol cigarettes
-> A case of scotch
-> A side of beef
-> A salt lick

I quit smoking. Put me down for 2 cases of scotch and a salt lick.

Do I pay now or when you deliver?