While my practice is focused mainly on C suite and other high net worth clients, I’ve sometimes wondered what the most powerful people in the world do for their medical checkups given their access to people, services and money.
Then came Trump.
To say I was underwhelmed by the physical examination of President Donald Trump would be an understatement. The report by the official physician to the President, Rear Admiral Dr. Ronny Jackson, made it sound like Trump is almost the picture of health. That’s hard to accept, especially as it appears he was given primarily what I call a ‘dinosaur’ check up. Read my opinion piece on outdated checkups in The Toronto Star.
Based on Trump’s report, he is NOT in good health (he has high cholesterol and is overweight/obese. Is this the new ‘normal’? How can you say that when he has poor health hygiene too (just look at his lifestyle habits). If I’d been checking the President’s health, I would have demanded a more thorough analysis. Why? Given my experience and simple observations of Trump’s lifestyle, I definitely consider him high risk for a killer disease just waiting to happen.
Putting aside the factors that we know, including: his penchant for fast unhealthy food and diet Coke guzzling; and that according to his official health review, he has no exercise routine and is very overweight (just one pound shy of obese), plus also claims needing just 4-5 hours of sleep. I’d recommend a battery of tests to get a true picture of the President’s total health.
First, here are the key facts of the diagnostics that were performed. His abnormal results include:
- Elevated triglycerides 1.45 mmol/L (controlled with medication)
- High LDL (bad cholesterol) 3.7 mmol/L (controlled with medication)
- Abnormal BMI – overweight 29.9 (one pound short of BMI “obese”)
- CT calcium score of 133.
Here’s my diagnosis based on these facts: He has coronary artery disease (as also pointed out by CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta who wisely asked Dr. Jackson for the results of the President’s CT Calcium Score):
What do I think the man with one of the world’s most stressful jobs also has? I believe he should be tested high insulin from a high intake of carbohydrates and low cortisol due to lack of sleep.
Both of these factors contribute to weight gain: Read Stress can make you dumb and fat. Digging deeper, I’d run the following tests to make sure nothing is missed and to help guide his health action plan:
- 1. Cardiac inflammatory markers to assess state of his heart disease.
- 2. Bonafide fitness test.
- 3. Understand his stress risk score.
I’d perform these specialized tests:
- 4. Genetics – Full genome and exome and telomere length testing. Begin interpreting:
a) Pharmacogenetics – run his drugs through a drug risk software system to be sure he can in fact tolerate (aka properly metabolize) his cholesterol medications and if there are any drug interactions.
b) Nutrigenomics to see if exercise will support lowering his LDL and triglycerides.
c) Disease risk, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer and some forms of dementia.
- 5. Hormones – full panel including testosterone, cortisol, insulin, growth hormones.
- 6. Neurotransmitters to assess brain chemical balance.
- 7. Nutrient levels – full panel of vitamin, mineral, organic and amino acid levels.
- 8. Food allergies and intolerances.
- 9. Toxicity exposure, given his use of airplanes and helicopters.
- 10. Full biome.
- 11. Total body MRI.
I would also add on leading edge cancer tests that many oncologists don’t know exist today. Despite critics who say these are investigational, I’m going to recommend them as I certainly don’t want to miss a cancer. I prefer to catch cancer growth earlier than just being able to ‘see it’ on a MRI film. Such tests include:
- 12. Proteinomics
- 13. Liquid RNA
Here’s the best part about tests like these. They’re all available in the United States. When it comes to personalized medical diagnostics, many American labs are best in class. I ship all of my specialized lab diagnostics to CLIA and FDA approved labs. My message to President Trump: “Buy American.” It could save your life!
Read related articles describing my recommended diagnostic tests and where you can access them beyond my clinic at Executive Health Centre, Toronto, Canada.
RELATED ARTICLES
If I were Trump’s doctor, I’d be:
- Doing more targeted testing for heart disease risk
- Looking closer at genetics to improve Trump’s health action plan.
- Being more scientific about a fitness assessment
And more from my colleagues:
• Assess Trump’s prescription risk using pharmacogenetics. Find out why in “Don’t be a Drug Experiment” from my colleague, Dr. Virginia Florentin.
• “Supplements Trump Needs and Why.” Find out what my naturopathic doctor colleague Dr. Elizabeth Stavros would recommend.
• Is your stress at Presidential levels? Reveal your stress load score with this test from my colleague, psychologist Dr. William Howatt.
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About the author
Dr. Elaine Chin is a seasoned medical doctor, health coach, and the bestselling author of “Lifelines: Unlocking the Secrets of your Telomeres for Longer Healthier Lives.” She’s passionate about helping people live longer, more rewarding, disease and disability-free lives. Visit her Blog.
