N.Y. hospital focuses on healthier fare

Sept. 4—Since health professionals are starting to understand that the food served in hospitals is important to help patients recover, the Canton-Potsdam Hospital recently revamped its food offerings.

Dr. Alexandru Stoin is a cardiologist at the Canton-Potsdam Hospital. Stoin says part of preventing heart attacks is getting people to eat healthier. But much of food served at the hospital back then was covered in what he calls Vaseline: Partially hydrogenated oils, which clog arteries and can contribute to heart disease. So Stoin started to push for improvements in the hospital’s food service. And he switched his own focus from critical care to preventative cardiology.

Today, the hospital cafeteria doesn’t offer many of those “Vaseline”-coated foods. There are containers of local strawberries, planted herbs, and signs explaining that many of the foods here are heart healthy.