Malcolm Kendrick
| Potentially edible! Food woo |
| Fabulous food! |
| Delectable diets! |
| Bodacious bods! |
“”I don't happen to think that saturated fats are in any way damaging or dangerous. If they were, they wouldn't taste so damn delicious. Nature tends to warn us off dangerous foods by making them taste bitter and icky.
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| —Malcolm Kendrick[1] |
Kendrick himself is overweight and admits he has high cholesterol. Don't take the risks he suggests—An angry reviewer[2]
Malcolm Kendrick is a Scottish GP, conspiracy theorist and food woo promoter. He is best known for his controversial claim that high cholesterol does not cause heart disease.
Kendrick's dislikes the medical community and hates the idea of a scientific consensus. He argues against the use of statins.[3][4]
Biography
Kendrick is a GP based in Macclesfield, Cheshire.[5] He is a member of THINCS (The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics), a fringe think-tank that disputes the role of cholesterol in cardiovascular disease.[6] He is the author of the The Great Cholesterol Con.
Kendrick has hardly any peer-reviewed papers published. In 2016, Kendrick and other colleagues published a systematic review to examine how low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is associated with mortality in older adults. They concluded that "High LDL-C is inversely associated with mortality in most people over 60 years" and since "elderly people with high LDL-C live as long or longer than those with low LDL-C, our analysis provides reason to question the validity of the cholesterol hypothesis."[7] The review was criticized for cherry picking data and confirmation bias. Nine of the authors are members of THINCS. The National Health Service noted that "the review searched only a single literature database, excluded studies only available in non-English language, and excluded studies where the title and abstract did not appear to contain information on the link between LDL and mortality in older adults."[8] Medical experts rejected the review's suggestions. Professor Jeremy Pearson Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation commented that "there is nothing in the current paper to support the authors’ suggestions that the studies they reviewed cast doubt on the idea that LDL cholesterol is a major cause of heart disease or that guidelines on LDL reduction in the elderly need re-evaluating."[9][10]
Kendrick endorses a high fat, Low-carb diet (HFLC). He has defended the Atkins diet.[11]
Far-out claims
| Some dare call it Conspiracy |
| What THEY don't want you to know! |
| Sheeple wakers |
“”Medical scientists (an oxymoron if ever there was one), have a long and distinguished history of grabbing entirely the wrong end of the stick, closing their eyes tightly shut, holding on grimly and refusing to listen to anybody else.
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| —Malcolm Kendrick medical scientist hater [12] |
According to Kendrick:[13]
- A high-fat diet has no impact on blood cholesterol levels
- High-cholesterol levels do not cause or increase the risk of heart disease
- Statins do not protect against heart disease by lowing cholesterol levels
- The protection provided by statins is so small it is not worth bothering with
- Statins have many negative side effects, including death and creation of deformed babies
- All medical experts should be ignored as they are paid large sums of money from statin manufacturers
- The only expert that should be listened to is Malcolm Kendrick
In The Great Cholesterol Con (2008), he argues the above claims, but fails to back this up with reliable scientific evidence. It has an irresponsible chapter titled "Eat whatever you like (Diet has nothing to do with heart disease)". Kendrick lacks education in nutrition. The book makes the following arrogant statement in regard to the above claims:
You may not think it now. But by the time you have read this book, you will be convinced that I am right, and everyone else is wrong.[14]
So the entire medical community is wrong and Kendrick is right.Do You Believe That?
Kendrick continues his crusade against medical scientists in his book A Statin Nation: Damaging Millions in a Brave New Post-Health World (2018). Contrary to what Kendrick has written, clinical and genetic studies have revealed that high-cholesterol levels can increase the risk of heart disease.[15][16] Harriet Hall has written that Kendrick and others from THINCS "cherry-pick the scientific literature to find studies that support their theses, ignore the flaws in those studies, and ignore the vast body of literature that contradicts them."[6]
Conspiracy theories
Kendrick's personal blog and books are filled with Big Pharma and government conspiracy theories. He also thinks a group of vegan activists deleted his Wikipedia article and are targeting other high-fat advocates.[17]
He claims anyone that promotes a high fat low carbohydrate diet is somehow "silenced" around the world.[17][18]
References
- ↑ The Great Cholesterol Con
- ↑ Amazon Review
- ↑ Statins aren't a wonder drug by Malcolm Kendrick
- ↑ Should women be offered cholesterol lowering drugs to prevent cardiovascular disease? No. "Not only do statins fail to provide any overall health benefit in women, they represent a massive financial drain on health services".
- ↑ The Great Cholesterol Con by Malcolm Kendrick
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Statin Denialism
- ↑ Kendrick, M. et al. "Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review".
- ↑ "Study says there's no link between cholesterol and heart disease"
- ↑ "Flawed cholesterol study makes headlines"
- ↑ "Expert reaction to systematic review reporting lack of an association between LDL cholesterol and mortality in the elderly".
- ↑ Why the Atkins Diet is Healthy by Malcolm Kendrick
- ↑ The Great Cholesterol Con
- ↑ The Great Cholesterol Con
- ↑ The Great Cholesterol Con
- ↑ Low-density lipoproteins cause atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. 1. Evidence from genetic, epidemiologic, and clinical studies. A consensus statement from the European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Panel
- ↑ High Cholesterol
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Wikipedia a parable for our times
- ↑ Those who promote a high fat low carbohydrate diet are silenced around the world