I have known cardiologist Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, for many years. I’ve interviewed him multiple times on my show, “Doctor Radio Reports” on SiriusXM, and have also spent time around the dinner table with him and his family.
Many in the cardiac and cardiac surgery fields in New York have told me that he is one of the best heart surgeons in history. I have always found him to be highly analytical and to possess a good sense of humor.
Dr. Oz spends a lot of time with President Donald Trump these days as they travel to and attend events together. He told me recently on my show that he is struck by how clever and funny the president is and how he doesn’t actually have a bad diet.
Here are five things that struck me about the president’s diet following our recent conversation.
Last week, the news media excoriated President Trump for supposedly saying that Diet Coke kills cancer cells. It is no secret that the president drinks a lot of diet soda, but it is less well known what he thinks about its properties.
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Here’s what Dr. Oz said to me in an interview for my show, “Doctor Radio Reports,” on SiriusXM. “We sometimes travel together, and so I was joking with his son about something his son knows very well, which is that his father is very clever. He will deal with your chastising him or disagreeing with him in a humorous way. I was giving him a little bit of grief for drinking diet soda, and he said, ‘What are you talking about? This stuff will kill grass. That’s why I think it probably kills cancer cells.’ It was a joke. Obviously, no one is going to argue that diet soda has that impact. It’s humorous that people don’t have a sense of humor. Nothing about that comment is dangerous or harmful. I think most folks took it in the right spirit.”
Clearly, not everyone took the president’s “kills grass” comment in the right spirit, and many in the news media used it as yet another platform to attack Trump. But Dr. Oz’s comment to me — that it’s humorous that people don’t have a sense of humor — is also noteworthy, because humor is good for your health, even if diet soda isn’t (I don’t think it can kill grass, but it definitely isn’t healthy).
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Humor, on the other hand, is very healthy because it decreases stress and stress hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine), which strain the heart, and can improve mood. Humor also releases feel-good hormones, including oxytocin, which improves bonding and lowers blood pressure. https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/healthy-aging/the-health-benefits-of-humor/
Dr. Oz told me he is impressed with the president’s focus on the job at hand and his drive to accomplish things. Oz said, “The president is remarkably strong in his ability to get things done. He calls at all hours, he’s focused on this job. It’s wanting to do this job well that keeps him so energized.”
In fact, highly skilled, cognitively demanding jobs with high decision-making authority are associated with a lower risk of dementia. The president often comments about how well he performs on repeated cognitive tests, and he appears articulate and engaged, which doesn’t keep the media from speculating excessively.
Dr. Oz made the point that President Trump’s diet is much better than people may think while he’s at the White House and Mar-a-Lago, but that on the road — and, of course, he travels frequently — he has fewer options, so he turns to fast food because he knows it has to meet a certain standard and will be well-prepared.
Dr. Oz said to me during the interview, “Sometimes he eats junky food. He says this to me, and others have heard this as well, [that] when he’s on the road his main goal is to not get sick from a meal that’s not well-prepared. Going to the larger chain fast-food joints allows him to buy food that’s very standardized, very safe, and allows him to keep going at full speed. When he eats on his own, back at Mar-a-Lago or the White House, he eats plenty of healthy foods that he has access to and that he generally consumes. I don’t think it’s fair to say that he has a ‘bad diet.’ But he’s on the road a lot, and sometimes when you are on the road you can’t pick the meals you want to have — you have to eat what you can get.”
There is some truth to what Dr. Oz is saying here. Overall, foodborne illness is more prevalent in restaurants than in fast-food chains. And a study released in 2017 by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that chain restaurants committed an average of around six violations per inspection, compared to an average of nine for non-chain locations.
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Of course, this approach ignores the MAHA movement’s focus on ultra-processed foods as a likely cause of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and certain kinds of cancer.
Dr. Oz didn’t get into this directly during our interview on SiriusXM, but “calling at all hours” likely means the president is not getting enough sleep. Less than seven hours of sleep per night has been linked to poorer health, and it is unlikely that the president sleeps nearly that much. And though he is a great golfer, and golf is an excellent form of relaxation and exercise, he could probably get even more of his necessary exercise if he played without the golf cart.
On the other hand, President Trump’s blood pressure has repeatedly been shown to be normal, and his cholesterol is well managed with medication.
According to his physicians, his physicals have all been completely normal, which is especially impressive for a 79-year-old. While some might not wish the president well, Dr. Oz’s insights paint a reassuring picture. But please, go easy on the aspirin, Mr. President.
