I happen to be a staunch independent so please don’t interpret this blog as supporting one party or the other. Because my focus in on the relationship between food and brain function, I’m always a little curious about what the people at the top of the food chain are eating.

I don’t know about you, but to me President Obama looks pretty buff. To maintain his trim and fit body, he couldn’t be following in the culinary footsteps of his mentor Bill Clinton. No donuts and cupcakes for this commander in chief.

Of course Romney doesn’t look like too much of a slouch either. Trim and fit seem to fit him as well as President Obama. But I also know from treating thousands of patients that bad food can sneak up on your brain before it affects your body. You can end up with a form of food-induced brain dysfunction called Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome long before your body takes a hit. People with CARB syndrome have a form of reversible brain dysfunction. Their brain doesn’t work as well as intended, leading to all sorts of subtle and not so subtle consequences.

We now know that excessive fructose mainly from sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and high glycemic carbohydrates mainly from grains are the primary triggers of CARB syndrome. Mitt Romney apparently always eats organic, but organic really doesn’t come into the equation here because organ sugar, HFCS and grain based carbohydrates are likely as toxic as the non-organic form.

What really caught my attention is that Mitt Romney’s favorite food is peanut butter and honey sandwiches. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, but most peanut butter has added sugar. Even if he has been eating the “natural” kind of peanut butter without added sugar, adding honey and bread to it are not good choices. Honey is loaded with fructose and most commercial bread has added sugar, regardless of whether or not it is whole grain or Wonder Bread. Grain based carbohydrates are bad for your brain under any circumstances.

Romney also apparently loves Kashi cereals. Although these cereals are promoted as healthy, I have never met a cereal that passes the “food worth eating” test. All cereals are loaded with carbs and sugar, a toxic combination. If you believe that Cheerios are rally heart healthy, it’s also likely that you will believe that Kashi cereals somehow enhance your health. If you do, I have a bridge in New York to sell you.

So during the rush of the campaign Romney was living on peanut butter and honey sandwiches and Kashi cereals. He doesn’t drink alcohol, although after this election maybe he should take it up. I know from experience that people who eat this type of food often suffer from a subtle form of brain dysfunction that affects their impulse control, higher cognitive skills and emotional stability. In other words they make bad decisions.

If you really look at the Presidential election, it came down to President Obama running a much more effective campaign than Mitt Romney. Obama had no record to run on so he had to resort to trashing Romney and getting his base to the polls. This he did very effectively. Romney gained the edge in the first debate but then ate too many peanut butter and honey sandwiches and bowls of Kashi cereal and couldn’t sustain his momentum. He didn’t seem to think very effectively and lost his common sense.

Others blame the election results on Chris Christie. After hurricane Sandy he couldn’t remember which party he was affiliated with, slathering praise on President Obama when he was supposed to be one of the stalwarts of the Republican party. Looking at Chris, I would say that his problems go well beyond peanut butter and honey sandwiches and Kashi cereal. Enough said.

So my final call on this election is that it was all about food. Forget the economy, foreign affairs and the impending financial cliff. The most important election in a decade was decided by a few slices of bread, some peanut butter and honey, and a bowl of cereal.

Now I have to go to work and figure out what Obama has been eating. Whatever it is, I want some.