My research interest is the connection between diet and brain function, especially when explaining the how and why of an individual’s behavior. President Trump is a good example. I believe he suffers from a form of diet-induced brain dysfunction termed Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome. Over the years, I have written several blog posts outlining how this condition affects his brain function and behavior. He has a track record of successfully running many different businesses and enterprises, so his brain function is clearly up to the task in certain areas. To better understand precisely how CARB syndrome affects Trump, you need to understand the underlying pathology of the illness.
The Diet Calls the Shots
The Standard American Diet has dramatically changed over the past 70 years. We’ve moved from a whole foods Mediterranean-style diet to one loaded with ultra-processed food containing the deadly triad of excess sugar, high glycemic carbohydrates, and omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils. That’s not good news when it comes to your brain! Consuming ultra-processed food leads to massive glucose spikes, resulting in excess amounts of monoamine neurotransmitters being released from nerve axons. These essential chemical messengers like dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and others are supposed to be reabsorbed into the neuron to be reused. When too many of these chemicals are released, they overwhelm the reuptake system, so some of these excess neurotransmitters are taken up by the bloodstream and cleared by the kidneys. You end up peeing away your neurotransmitters! After every glucose spike, you also get a massive drop in glucose below normal. Your primitive brain evolved to read low glucose as a possible emerging famine or “It’s time to eat,” pushing you to consume more food and putting your body into a fat storage mode where it will store extra fat at almost any level of caloric intake. This worked well for a caveman but not so much for modern humans.
This process eventually has two significant consequences:
- You develop up to 22 brain dysfunction symptoms that overlap with traditional psychiatric disorders, creating massive diagnostic and therapeutic confusion. These symptoms can interfere with your ability to function effectively in multiple settings.
- You end up storing excess body fat at virtually any caloric intake, leading to significant obesity.
Dissecting Trump’s Brain
Now, let’s examine how Donald Trump might fit this pattern. Based on my observations, I believe he has some degree of these CARB syndrome symptoms:
- Craving sweet and starchy food. Trump readily admits that he loves eating fast food. He also slathers his steak with ketchup, a condiment loaded with sugar.
- Abnormal hunger drives. Trump loves to snack and eats fast food and sweets throughout the day.
- Difficulty concentrating and focusing. Trump is notorious for shifting his thoughts quickly from one topic to another.
- Poor impulse control. When something pops into his mind, he runs with it. He often acts or speaks without thinking about the consequences of his actions.
- Excess mood swings. Trump’s moods seem to be all over the place. He’s up one minute and down the next. His moods are like a roller coaster.
- Lack of empathy. This one is a bit challenging to assess, but Trump sometimes seems oblivious to the mental status of those around him.
- Internal restlessness and racing thoughts. Trump’s brain does seem to jump quickly from one idea to the next without much connection between the thoughts. He also appears to be restless and jumpy much of the time.
- Poor listening skills. Trump often seems to be focused on his thoughts to the point where he doesn’t hear or comprehend what others are trying to communicate.
- Trump apparently sleeps only 4-5 hours per night. That isn’t enough sleep to completely restore healthy brain function.
Follow the Symptoms
In summary, Trump has at least 50% of the typical symptoms of CARB syndrome. The other symptoms are hard to assess without personal contact with Trump, or he may not have them. The other key component of CARB syndrome is having excess body fat or obesity. Trump clearly has significant central and generalized obesity. Thus, it’s clear to me that Trump has at least moderate CARB syndrome. How does this affect his performance as our national leader? Several recent examples might be instructive.
- After the recent airline disaster in Washington, Trump suggested that DEI played a role in the accident. One could argue that DEI policies might impact various federal agencies, but pinning down exactly how they would do so would be challenging. The country needed empathy and a sense of mourning from our leader, not a political statement. This was an example of poor impulse control.
- One of Trump’s first actions was to place a massive freeze on all federal spending. It soon became apparent that such a move would have dire national consequences that would be difficult even to imagine. Under pressure from those thinking more clearly, Trump quickly reversed this decision. This is another example of poor impulse control and a lack of empathy for those in need.
- Trump gave pardons to all the January 6th defendants serving jail time, regardless of whether their actions involved violence against the police. His Vice President and several of his cabinet appointees openly disagreed with his perspective. This impulsive decision was not well thought out before being made.
- Trump tends to mutter a lot. If you spend time listening to Trump, he frequently mutters comments after making a statement. The muttered comments tend to be all over the map. During one of his trials, he was admonished by Judge Murchan for “muttering.” Muttering is a sign of poor impulse control and scattered thinking.
- During the run-up to the election, Trump famously flipped hamburgers at McDonalds. People viewed this as Trump being a “regular guy,” but it also demonstrates his favorite type of food.
- As of February 1st, Trump will impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on China. These moves could have massive economic implications beyond what we or Trump can imagine.
- In February of 2017, US News published an article titled “The Impulsive President.” Need I say more?
- Based on Trump’s sometimes erratic behavior, some in the media have speculated that he has some type of mental disorder. This is a common phenomenon for people with significant CARB syndrome. They appear to have a dozen disorders when they have only one condition—CARB syndrome.
Let me make it clear that I cannot diagnose Donald Trump with any disorder, as I haven’t personally examined or evaluated him. This post is purely speculative. Based on your own observations, I’ll let you decide if he fits the CARB syndrome pattern. This is important because having a President with significant brain dysfunction could potentially lead to an unpredictable national or international disaster. If you have any contact with Trump, please let him know that I will gladly evaluate and treat him for free! I suspect the country and the world would thank me for doing so.
Edited by Andy Steinfeldt