Every person who has held the highest elected office of our nation has had their own particular food fetish.  When you’re the leader of the land of the free and home of the brave (and well-fed), you get to have that crazy preoccupation with a certain food(s) defining your guilty pleasure. Being commander-in-chief is hard and after a long day of policy making, travel, giving speeches, entertaining world leaders, overseeing the armed forces and living in a gigantic house with its own personal chef, why not take advantage of what your appetite desires, good or bad.

Here is a look at the current and a few past presidents’ favorite foods and how they rate nutritionally on a grading scale:

·         Barack Obama – Fran’s Smoked Salt Caramels. Grade – D-. Very tasty but that rich, buttery flavor does a person few favors in terms of health.  Each one is 45 calories (not bad) but comprised mainly of fat and sugar.  They contain no fiber, protein or any other vitamins and minerals.  Keep it to just one or two and it can be an occasional guilty pleasure.

·         George W. Bush – Cheeseburger pizza.  Grade – F.  Apparently George couldn’t make up his mind between a cheeseburger or pizza so he just combined the two.  One medium slice contains 459 calories, 18 grams of fat, 1,255 milligrams of sodium and very few vitamins or minerals.  Thank goodness George regularly runs otherwise he might weigh much more than he does.

·         Bill Clinton – Jalapeno cheeseburgers.  Grade – F.  Before Bill Clinton’s 2004 quadruple coronary bypass surgery after which he became a vegan, his dietary habits were rather atrocious.  Jalapeno cheeseburgers were one bad example of a low nutrient high fat food he often chose.  Total calories approximately 1,120, 76 grams of total fat, 235 milligrams of cholesterol, and 1,690 milligrams of sodium.  His one saving grace – he added tomato, lettuce and onion to his burger.

·         George H.  W. Bush – Pork rinds.  Grade – F. Affectionately named “Skin Man of the Year” by the pork rind manufacturers, this skin of a pig delicacy (or however you want to view it) was a favorite treat George H. W. indulged in.  Just one ounce contains 9 grams of fat, 3.2 grams of saturated (bad) fat, and 515 milligrams of sodium.  However, to his credit, the man has lived to be 92 years old.

·         Ronald Reagan – Jelly beans.  Grade – F.  Who can forget Ronald Reagan’s fondness for jelly beans?  It has been reported that when he was governor of California, he along with visitors, would chow through two dozen 1-lb bags monthly.  As president, there was a standing order of 720 bags per month distributed among the White House, Capitol Hill and other federal buildings.  These bean shaped sugar candies are just that – all sugar.  Ten small jelly beans provide 41 calories….and really nothing else.

·         Richard Nixon – Cottage cheese and ketchup.  Grade – B-.  Finally a past president who chose a more nutritious but rather strange food combination. One cup of cottage cheese has 222 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 819 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of protein, and 180 milligrams of calcium. One tablespoon of ketchup has only 19 calories, no fat, no cholesterol but 154 milligrams of sodium. Nixon claimed he ate cottage cheese for health reasons but added the ketchup to improve upon its taste.

·         Lyndon B. Johnson – Fresca.  Grade – B.  First introduced and popular back in the 1960’s and 70’s, this diet lime and grapefruit citrus soft drink is a product of The Coca-Cola Company.  The word Fresca is a Spanish translation of the word “fresh.”  Johnson apparently loved it so much he had a soda fountain containing Fresca installed in the Oval Office.  One serving size of Fresca contains 0 calories and 25 milligrams of sodium. 

·         John F. Kennedy – Boston clam chowder.   Grade – C-.  Kennedy loved his Boston clam chowdah so much that a Boston restaurant, Boston’s Union Oyster House, has table 18 dedicated to the former president who sat there slurping on his creamy bowl of soup.  Eight ounces of this famous soup contains 233 calories, 10.2 grams of fat, 1,242 milligrams of sodium and 11 grams of protein.

So, how does today’s two current presidential contenders for the White House stack up nutritionally with their favorite food choices? 

Hillary Clinton is said to partake in a diet rich in lean protein, vegetables and fruit but does not follow her husband’s more strict vegan diet. Her one food vice appears to be hot sauce – she apparently carries a bottle with her in her purse.  Overall, her dietary choices appear to be good to very good and are more in line with what is recommended in eating a healthy diet.

 Donald Trump’s dietary fare is in need of a nutrition intervention.  He takes no efforts to hide his love of fast food whether it’s from McDonalds, Wendy’s or KFC’s.  His least favorite meal is breakfast so he saves up his calories until later in the day eating a big dinner which often includes steak, potatoes and pasta. However, he is not an imbiber as he does not consume alcohol.  Overall, he could use and benefit from wise nutrition advice from a good registered dietitian.