Robert F Kennedy Jr has a worm in his brain that he got from eating ‘undercooked pork perhaps from India'. Donald Trump's public-health czar ‘adventurous’ approach to nutrition has sparked both intrigue and concern.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, a 70-year-old environmental lawyer, has gained attention not only for his controversial views on health but also for his adventurous eating habits, which include a deadly worm in his brain.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s health saga took a dramatic turn in 2010, when a mysterious brain condition sent him to the hospital with significant memory loss. Initially mistaken for a tumour, doctors eventually identified the culprit: a parasitic worm.
Kennedy, an "adventurous eater", has speculated that the worm may have come from consuming undercooked pork during his travels in India.
“I loved tuna-fish sandwiches. I ate them all the time. I caught fish all the time and freshwater fish. I would fish and eat a lot of perch at very, very high levels,” he told The New York Times in 2023.," Kennedy told The New York Times in 2023.
“I loved tuna-fish sandwiches and freshwater fish. But the mercury poisoning, not the worm, was likely the cause of my memory loss.”
When he was struggling with the memory loss, Kennedy was subsisting on a diet heavy on predatory fish, notably tuna and perch, both known for their elevated mercury levels.
Kennedy’s eating habits aren't limited to exotic meats or predatory fish. He’s also made headlines for his promotion of YouTube tutorials as a method of self-education — even when it comes to nutrition.
"I’m a very adventurous eater," Kennedy has said, admitting to turning to online resources to enhance his knowledge on diet and wellness.
Through YouTube tutorials, Kennedy learned how to adopt intermittent fasting and other health protocols, including "anti-aging" practices suggested by his doctor.
These health routines also include a heavy reliance on vitamins — so many, in fact, that he can’t even recall the full list of supplements he takes, reports NYT.
And let’s not forget the half-hour gym sessions that, combined with his three-mile hikes and daily meditation, make for a rather intense daily routine. Kennedy also posts videos of himself lifting weights, shirtless.
In a 2023 interview with podcast host Lex Fridman, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared that he follows an intermittent fasting regimen, eating only between noon and 6 or 7 pm.
Kennedy informs his mornings are packed with a 12-step meeting, a three-mile hike with his dogs, meditation, and 30 minutes at the gym, leaving little time for breakfast.
Kennedy has publicly advocated for the consumption of raw, unpasteurised milk, a practice that remains controversial due to potential health risks. Kennedy, 70, has pushed for relaxing regulations on the sale of raw milk.
According to NYT report, Kennedy has been sober for years after struggling with drug addiction in his youth.
In interviews, Kennedy Jr has noted that his diet avoids processed foods, a stance that aligns with his broader anti-industrial food rhetoric.
However, when asked about food options on Donald Trump’s campaign plane, Kennedy was less than enthusiastic, calling the offerings “poison.”
Despite his health-focused rhetoric, Kennedy Jr remains unapologetically adventurous in his eating habits.
In a now-infamous interview, he discussed eating a variety of exotic meats, including a photograph published in Vanity Fair in July this year, where he posed with a roasted animal, which sparked speculation that it might be dog.
He later clarified that the animal in question was a goat, consumed in Patagonia.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s list of foods he wouldn’t touch, however, is more limited. He said he would never eat a human, a monkey, or a dog.
