A wellness trend has taken hold among senior figures in Donald Trump’s orbit: large servings of sauerkraut and other fermented foods. The group includes Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Vice President J.D. Vance, who is currently pressing for a U.S.-Iran deal. Supporters say the regimen’s health benefits outweigh the embarrassment of the gas, which has already become something of a White House joke and spawned awkward social media videos.
Kennedy said this week at an event in Michigan that he had lost 9 kilograms in 30 days, adding, “J.D. Vance is also on the diet, and you can see how much he has changed.” The diet was devised by Dr. Sean O’Mara, who recommends fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi, along with grass-fed beef, while avoiding alcohol and high-sugar foods. He says it reduces visceral fat, improves the microbiome, and helps digestion. For snacks, he recommends “old world cheeses” like blue cheese, gorgonzola, or ungrated parmesan.
Kennedy said he started the diet about a year ago after meeting O’Mara. Although he sometimes dislikes the sour, pungent taste, he says it helped him lose weight, eased pain, and even made his atrial fibrillation disappear. Lutnick was next, after talking with Kennedy on a shared flight to Colorado in December 2025, and began making fermented vegetables at home while switching from Diet Coke to black coffee.
Vance initially adopted the diet for Lent before Easter and then kept it. His typical lunch now includes eggs, sauerkraut, pickles, blueberries, and raspberries, while dinner is beef or lamb with sauerkraut. On Air Force Two, he snacks on grass-fed beef jerky or a cheeseburger without a bun. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also joined after Duffy told him he looked “glowing,” and McCarthy says his waist has shrunk by 10 centimeters. Kennedy’s wife, Cheryl Hines, said he even travels with his own sauerkraut supply, but drew the line when he asked her to put a bag of it in her handbag. Trump himself, however, is not joining, and will continue eating hamburgers, pizza, and drinking cola. O’Mara, who has advised politicians since the George W. Bush administration, now offers MRI-based visceral fat testing, with optimization programs starting at $8,000 and a direct consultation costing $18,000, plus the sauerkraut.
