British cardiologist endorses high fat diet, dismisses dangers of high cholesterol

British cardiologist Aseem Malhotra, MD, is receiving attention for arguing that saturated fat can protect people from having heart disease, the New York Times reports. Malhotra also claims the dangers of high cholesterol are overrated and is outspoken about the harms of sugar.

"There are not many cardiologists who embrace butter and coconut oil as health foods," the article says. "But Dr. Malhotra rejects the decades-old mantra that eating foods rich in saturated fat causes heart disease, and he has been leading a campaign to change public opinion about fats, sugar and what constitutes a healthy diet."

Although some other cardiologists would like to see more research on the effect of saturated fat, most disagree with Malhotra’s promotion of high fat diets, according to the newspaper.

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Tim Casey,

Executive Editor

Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.

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