Wholewheat bread in their hospital - Dr. Bishara Bisharat and Samar Tamawi should receive the Israel Prize

By MOSHE MORDECHAI VAN ZUIDEN
Updated: DECEMBER 22, 2016 08:34
Here is one example of the absurd food situation in Israeli's hospitals. If one visits the Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem, one needs to pass through a mall. There one sees visitors, physicians and nurses eat great varieties of giant salads, wholewheat breads and mouth-watering fruits. Then one comes into the hospital and one sees patients who are there for recovery from illness presented with junk-food distributed by the hospital, paid for by the Ministry of Health. This craziness must stop.
Let me introduce to you:
Dr. Bishara Bisharat director of the Nazareth (Scottish) hospital, graduate of the Hebrew University - Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem, with a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University, chairman of the Society for Health Promotion in the Arab Community in the Israel Medical Association, also senior lecturer in the Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, and lecturer at the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa.
Samar Tamawi, nutrition adviser of the Nazareth (Scottish) hospital, with a master’s degree in food engineering from Haifa’s Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
Together these two medical scientists decided to end the distribution of white-flour produce in their hospital. They figured that people would get used to it and they were right. Patients and staff also started to eat wholesome bread at home.
One should know that the health difference between wholegrain bread and white bread is so large that the latter should be labeled poison, not food.
Their example should be followed throughout the Land. If not, the Minister of Health should force the other hospitals. But giving these two visionaries the Israel Prize might be all that's needed to cause this shift, which no doubt would add a decade or so to the average life expectancy in Israel. Besides, if these two do not deserve the Israel Prize, then who does?
Smoking is already not allowed in hospitals. Once white flour is banned too, the next steps could be: less salt, less sugar, less animal produce and much more legumes, nuts, roots, vegetables and fruits. But first things first now: down with the junk breads!
Most of the above information I have from this excellent report by the JPost health reporter: http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/Health-and-Science/Nazareth-Hospital-insists-on-serving-only-whole-wheat-bread-459099 and my BA in Medicine (University of Amsterdam).


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