Part 3 of the ‘Slow your body’s clock’ series
By Assunta Ng
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
President Trump is 74 years old, and former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will be 78 in November. But biologically, Biden is likely younger…
Trump’s older biological age could explain why he was infected with COVID last Thursday, and ended up in a hospital for three days. Most people were not surprised that Trump got infected due to his resistance towards social distancing and wearing masks. Continuously, he campaigned in big crowds with no precautions, and not requiring attendees to wear masks. One retiree said she was surprised that he didn’t get COVID sooner.
The immediate cause for Trump’s COVID was he got it from his senior aide, Hope Hicks. However, the long-term causes for Trump are more apparent. He’s male, 74, and overweight: all high-risk factors for COVID. According to statistics, males account for 15% of COVID deaths. According to Science, an online journal, many of the sickest COVID-19 patients have been people who are obese. Those over 60 belong to the vulnerable age group for COVID.
There’s a clock in our body, and not just our brain, but every organ of our body. They all have their own timetables. Our cells have lives of their own. But if we abuse our bodies, which Trump does a lot, our bodies would lose their ability to fight against diseases due to self-destructive impulses.
Biden
Biological age: 75 (estimated)
Real age: 77
Healthy diet, no junk food: -1 year
Exercises 5 days a week: -1 year
Weight: 185 lbs -1 year
Sleep: info unavailable
Anger management: Able to control anger. No years added or subtracted.
Trump
Biological age: 85 (estimated)
Real age: 74
Skips breakfast: +1 year
Diet includes junk food and lots of meat: +2 years
Exercise: none during the week and occasional golfing on weekends +1 year
Weight: 244 lbs (10 pounds overweight) +1 year
Sleep: 3-4 hours a night +2 years
Anger management: uncontrollable anger all the time +1 year COVID side effects: +3 years
Biden’s and Trump’s diets
Trump is famous for indulging in junk food. A steak and meat person, he shuns vegetables, and welcomes meatloaf, pork chops, and french fries. A lover of McDonald’s, his security detail has ordered for him burgers, milk shakes, and Diet Coke. During his campaign, he also enjoys Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Neither Biden nor Trump smoke or drink. However, Trump’s vice is Diet Coke, of which he drinks several a day. Although it has no calories, sugar, or fat, it offers no nutrients. It has been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease in several studies. Research has found that just one serving of an artificially sweetened drink per day is associated with an 8–13% higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Trump is overweight, he could be pre-diabetic or already a diabetic. He just tries to hide his condition.
Trump is not a breakfast person. Breakfast is the most important meal for us to build a healthy body. Health experts would suggest a big breakfast, but going easy on lunch and dinner. Too big of a dinner would affect our digestive system and sleep. If you have dessert as well with dinner, the sugar will go right into your bloodstream, and it will turn into fat later.
If Trump eats breakfast, it will be bacon and eggs. Eggs are good for protein and nutrients, but not bacon, a processed meat. Bacon, which goes into your gut with a dose of nitrosamines, will damage the cells in the lining of the bowel, and can lead to cancer, according to a World Health Organization study.
Biden is more disciplined about his eating than Trump. According to the Washington Post, Biden’s speaking contract showed a health-conscious diet. He requested mixed nuts, a fruit plate, and a meal of angel hair pomodoro, a caprese salad, and raspberry sorbet with biscotti.
We are what we eat. For not eating breakfast, add one year to Trump’s age. Eating junk food and lots of meat, add two years. Being overweight, add one more year.
For Biden’s healthy eating, we subtract one year from his age.
Biden works out, Trump does not
Lean and fit, Biden works out five days a week. Trump likes to sit and watch hours of television, especially Fox News. The amount of sitting would explain why Trump is obese. At 6’3”, he weighs 244 lbs. Healthy experts say he should weigh 10 pounds less. At six feet, Biden weighs about 185 lbs. For his vigorous workouts and lean body, we subtract one year from his age.
For someone in such a demanding job like Trump’s and doesn’t exercise, it clearly affects his temper. Exercise can release tension and stress. It boosts our spirit. That explains why Trump is often in bad moods.
The White House can provide the world’s best gym to accommodate any president’s needs. It also has a swimming pool. The White House exercise room is probably underutilized because Trump doesn’t use it. The Clintons and Obamas made good use of it.
Trump golfs at his own private golf courses on weekends. Exercising once a week is not sufficient. He has gained four pounds since 2018. But given his tight campaign schedule, I doubt he has much time to golf lately. There is no question, his body is in terrible shape. Add one more year to his real age for not exercising.
Trump’s sleep habits
What Trump loves to do at night is not sleep, but tweet. He sleeps perhaps three to four hours a night, as he told Fox News, and sometimes, even less, especially if he’s in a lousy mood during the day.
Sleep helps the body to fight bacteria, viruses, and germs, which give us all kinds of illnesses. What does it say about his body’s immunity? For poor sleep, add another couple of years to his biological clock. Add two years for his bad sleep habits.
As of press time, Biden’s campaign had not responded to my request for information on how many hours a night Biden sleeps. All I found in an online search is, he sometimes dozed off during meetings when he was vice president.
Anger issues for both
Trump’s appetite for rage is just as immense as his ego. He likes to run the White House with fear when he doesn’t like what he sees or gets what he wants, or when people don’t praise him or give him credit when he thinks he should. Lately, it’s the Nobel Prize. He thinks he deserves it because of his role in bringing Israel and two tiny Arab countries in normalizing relations.
His debate with Biden illustrated his intense rage. When Biden said, “A lot more people are going to die unless he gets a lot smarter very fast.” The word “smart” provoked him instantly.
“Did you say smart?” Trump asked. “There’s nothing smart about you.”
Biden has a “volatile temper” too, according to the New York Times. But at the presidential debate last week, Biden was able to stay cool. The debate hurt Trump more than Biden, emotionally and physically. The Chinese believe that our body is driven by its inner energy. Trump’s anger has damaged his internal vitality in addition to the stresses of preparing for the debate.
Our vitality needs to be replenished every time we have done a major task, such as the debate by taking in nutritious food, and rest and relaxation. Otherwise, our brain and the rest of the body can’t recuperate from what we give out. But no, Trump kept going to fundraising events in addition to his Rose Garden event nominating Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court Justice. The media called it a “superspreader” event. He could have gotten COVID from that event, and later more spread from Hicks.
His short and long-term health problems linked to unmanaged anger, a stressful schedule, and a lack of sleep tripled his chances of getting COVID. Everything Trump does to himself disrupts the daily rhythms of his body. Add two more years to Trump’s age for his never-ending anger.
Trump’s COVID side effects will weaken his lungs, heart, brain and kidneys for years to come. For his new condition, add three more years to his age.
With all those years of self-inflicting wounds, Trump’s biological age is 85. One more thing, Biden said, “Listen to the sciences,” while Trump attacks scientists and their research. After Trump’s COVID experience, you would think that he learned his lesson. No, he took off his mask deliberately in front of cameras when he returned to the White House. He downplayed the virus again by saying, “Don‘t be afraid of COVID…don‘t let it dominate your life.”
Does Trump understand what a virus is? I bet the only thing Trump knows about a virus is, it can infect and kill a person.
Had he really known what a virus means, he would not tempt fate. The origin of the word “virus” is from Latin, meaning “toxin.” According to a book, “The Body” by Bill Bryson, “Most of the time, they (viruses) are as lifeless as a mote of dust, but put them into a living cell, and they will burst into animate existence and reproduce as furiously as any living thing… They are incredibly successful.” Some viruses can live as long as 30,000 years like the one discovered in Siberia in 2014. Frightening!
Trump’s infection is a wake-up call for those who live in a bubble and an unhealthy lifestyle. It never hurts to be a little more curious towards science and the coronavirus. You never know how it will help you and your loved ones in the long run.
Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.
Arthur Williams says
This has to be the stupidest article I have ever read. Saying that Biden is biologically younger than Trump is outright fantasy if not total prevarication. Right now, Trump is working as president plus campaigning endlessly. The man is an animal for his age. Biden, on the other hand, spends most of his time in his basement. When he does emerge, he gives rather brief speeches and takes no or only softball questions. Biden is in poor shape for his age. He suffers from dementia which is why his handlers want him hidden much of the time. This is nothing against Biden. Many times I have felt sorry for him. But this article is just sheer unscientific, unlettered, and totally partisan nonsense.