Sources at the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s aides of not taking care of him properly and not providing him with regular nutrition, Israel’s leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Wednesday.
“The writing was on the wall,” one source said Tuesday after the PM was released from hospital after he suffered a mild stroke.
Sharon leaves hospital – will we see a slimmer PM soon? (Photo: Reuters)
The sources added that Sharon’s aides were unable to say “no” every time he asked them for some take-away food, whether it was falafel, shawarma (minced, specially marinated meat or chicken,) or hummus.
One of Sharon’s favorite foods is fried canned beef, which would be served to him by a cook at the Prime Minister’s Office in the middle of the day, the sources said.
“He ate irregularly and stuffed himself with cookies between meals, and in addition drank a lot of soft drinks,” the sources added.
The prime minister’s weakness for junk food is well-known. Sharon is a big fan of French fries, hamburgers, steaks, mutton, falafel and hummus.
Often, on the way to the prime minister’s official residence, Sharon’s convoy would stop at a famous Jerusalem hummus restaurant for a celebration of hummus, tehina and pita bread.
During the weekend, at Sycamore Ranch, Sharon would enjoy a meal of high quality mutton ribs.
No more hamburgers
A few women working at the Prime Minister’s Office who have witnessed Sharon’s overeating warned his aides a number of times. More than once, the sources said, the women begged Sharon’s aides to restrain Sharon when it came to take-away food.
The women said that the cooks at the Prime Minister’s Office were strict about serving Sharon a healthy vegetable salad, but their attempts were ruined with a generous portion of pita and hummus.
Sharon’s aides, however, said the binging days are over and that the diet era has begun.
The person to take command of Sharon’s new and improved nutrition is his daughter-in-law Inbal, who is married to his son Gilad. In the next few days she will reside in the prime minister’s official residence, brief the cooks and closely supervise their efforts.
Sharon made a first small step Tuesday evening toward changing his lifestyle. After he was released from hospital, the PM ate a nutritious lunch, replacing the fatty steaks and hamburgers, which he is so fond of, with low-fat chicken, steamed vegetables and a vegetable salad.
His aides said that from now on he would have to get used to a low-fat menu and forget about falafel, his beloved mutton, and soft drinks.
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