Fermented foods gain popularity in Trump's cabinet

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, multiple members of President Trump's cabinet, including HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Vice President JD Vance, have increased their consumption of fermented foods.

"Within 30 days I lost 20 pounds," Kennedy said at an event in Michigan in June. "JD Vance is also on the diet and you can see how different he looks."

The diet comes from Sean O'Mara, a doctor who first started advising politicians and cabinet members during George W. Bush's second administration as part of the White House medical team. O'Mara is now in private practice and specializes in full-body MRIs, which look for fat that can be a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome.

O'Mara advises his patients to eat fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi alongside grass-fed steak, and to abstain from alcohol and sugary foods, claiming the diet leads to a reduction in visceral fat, which wraps around organs, as well as a more robust gut microbiome, which can help with digestion.

Kennedy was the first to try the diet, followed by Lutnick and Duffy. Vance committed to the diet for Lent earlier this year and has since stuck with it, the Journal reports.

"I tend to like to work with older people because the ROI is so much greater…. It's like taking over a sinking ship, a company that is headed to bankruptcy," O'Mara said. He declined to discuss his patients, citing privacy concerns, but people familiar with the matter told the Journal that Kennedy, Lutnick, and Duffy have all seen O'Mara.

Kennedy started the diet around a year ago after meeting with O'Mara, and while he doesn't always enjoy the tangy, pungent taste of sauerkraut, he's found the diet helped him lose fat and reduced aches and pains. Kennedy also credited the diet with eliminating the atrial fibrillations he'd been experiencing.

Are fermented foods good for you?

Fermented foods are defined as any foods or drinks that have been transformed by microbes like yeast, bacteria, and fungi in ways that preserve and infuse them with tangy, savory, fruity, and funky flavors, according to Robert Hutkins, an emeritus professor of food science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Milk can be turned into yogurt and kefir, vegetables can turn into sauerkraut and kimchi, fruit can turn into vinegar and wine, and wheat can become sourdough and beer. Even chocolate and coffee are sometimes fermented, according to Maria Marco, a professor of food science at the University of California, Davis.

Marco said that research on the health effects of fermented foods is limited, but some studies suggest the foods (except for alcohol) could offer some benefits.

For example, in a trial published in 2021, researchers split 36 healthy adults into two groups — one that ate a lot of fermented foods like yogurt, kimchi, and kombucha, and another that ate fiber-rich foods like legumes, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

After 10 weeks, the participants in the fermented foods group saw significantly lower levels of inflammatory markers in their blood and more diverse gut microbes than they did at the start of the study, both of which are associated with lower risks of chronic disease. Those in the fiber group didn't see the same changes.

Not all research on fermented foods has been positive, as some studies have found higher rates of stomach and esophageal cancers in East Asian people who ate a lot of kimchi and other fermented vegetables, according to Suzanne Devkota, director of the Cedars-Sinai Human Microbiome Research Institute. However, she noted the evidence for the link to cancer is weak and many other factors could have influenced that result.

Marco noted that many fermented foods are healthy on their own. For example, one serving of kimchi or sauerkraut counts as a serving of vegetables, and yogurt and kefir provide calcium, potassium, and protein.

The microbes that ferment the foods can also help with digestion and the absorption of nutrients and even create nutrients of their own. For example, the lactose in milk and the gluten in wheat are broken down during fermentation, which makes foods like yogurt, kefir, and sourdough bread easier for those with lactose or gluten intolerances to digest.

They can also help the body absorb minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc, and create new vitamins like folate, riboflavin, vitamin B12, and vitamin K during the fermentation process.

There's also emerging evidence that some of the molecules microbes make during the fermentation process can help reduce inflammation, regulate blood sugar, and help us feel full, however those benefits have mostly been demonstrated in research on rodents, according to Sean Spencer, a gastroenterologist and microbiome scientist at Stanford University.

Spencer said there's enough evidence to support incorporating more fermented foods into your diet, like having yogurt for breakfast, adding kimchi to eggs or sandwiches, or making salad dressings with apple cider vinegar.

However, Devkota cautioned people who are immunocompromised to be careful with fermented foods that contain live microbes, such as those labeled raw, unpasteurized, or as containing live cultures, since those people might not be able to handle the "bacterial load" presented in fermented foods, even if the bacteria are "friendly."

In addition, some fermented foods like sauerkraut, cheese, and wine, can contain large amounts of histamines, which are natural molecules that can trigger symptoms like diarrhea, hives, or headaches in those who are sensitive, Marco said.

Hutkins also cautioned those with high blood pressure to be aware of which fermented foods are typically high in sodium, like sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, and soy sauce.