Do you have any interest in heart disease, saturated fat, cholesterol or statin drugs?
Because if you— or anyone you know or love—is affected by any of those topics, there’s a documentary I really want to urge you to watch.
And by the way– the Australian heart establishment lobbied like crazy to keep this from being shown on the Australian Broadcasting Company network.
But they failed.
Usually I hate books or articles that imply conspiracies with titles like “The secrets THEY don’t want you to know”, but in this case, the “THEY” was very real, and “THEY” really did do everything humanly possible to keep ABC from airing the documentary.
“THEY” even got the Prime Minister involved.
And yes, the effort failed and the documentary did indeed make it on the air—but it hasn’t stopped the establishment from a massive campaign to discredit the producer, the journalist, and every expert that was featured in the program, including myself.
Here’s what happened.
Earlier this year, a journalist by the name of Maryanne Demasi contacted me from Australia. She said she was interested in the whole cholesterol controversy and was planning a two part documentary for the Australian Broadcasting Company. She was planning to come to the states in the summer and interview a number of people who, like me, do not believe cholesterol is the cause of heart disease and believe strongly that cholesterol should NOT be the centerpiece of our efforts to prevent heart disease.
As it turns out, this journalist was not your ordinary television teleprompter reader. She happens to have a PhD in medical reporting, and is an accomplished journalist with an extensive knowledge of health.
Dr. Demasi told me that what got her onto the whole cholesterol story was a meeting she had with a reknown Australian cardiologist—Dr. Ross Walker. Walker had told her, “I don’t treat high cholesterol. I treat heart disease”, and had proceeded to explain the difference.
Walker, by the way, is a pioneer in using natural, gentle treatments like citrus bergamot (BergaMet) for metabolic illnesses, and, while he is not opposed to statin drugs, thinks they are way overprescribed. He—like me—thinks the whole cholesterol thing is way overblown, and should not be the main focus of heart health programs.
This got Dr. Demasi thinking, since it flew in the face of everything she—like most of us—had been taught to believe about heart disease and cholesterol. Further exploration led her to find a whole host of experts who not only disagree with the conventional wisdom on cholesterol, but also think we’ve been completely mislead about the dangers of saturated fat.
The story might end here—with a fabulous documentary that, in my opinion, is the most honest and true telling of the “loyal opposition” position on cholesterol and saturated fat—but it doesn’t.
The lengths the establishment went to discredit Dr. Demasi, ABC, myself, Dr. Sinatra, and some of the other people who appeared in the documentary are simply jaw-dropping.
- They appealed to the Prime Minister to stop ABC from airing part two (on statin drugs)
- They went to the media to say that if ABC showed this “dangerous” documentary, lives would be lost because people would “throw away” their medications. (Nothing of the sort was recommended anywhere in the documentary, by the way.)
- They went to MediaWatch and reported that Dr. Sinatra and I should not be taken seriously since we have supplements for sale on our website and therefor stand to profit from a non-pharmaceutical approach. (This is like saying that information on the value of exercise should be ignored because personal trainers and people who sell gym memberships will profit.)
- Because I have endorsed Malaysian palm oil on television (as well as other saturated fats I think are healthy like coconut oil and butter), they accused the Malaysian Palm Oil council of “being behind” the documentary. (Palm oil isn’t even mentioned in the documentary, and my association with the Malaysian Palm Oil Council as an advisor/ consultant didn’t happen till a year after my book was published. But these guys never let the facts get in the way of a good story.)
I’d really like you to watch part one of this documentary—and let me know your thoughts. Better yet, let ABC and MediaWatch know your thoughts, since ABC is under the gun for showing it, and MediaWatch is leading the attack against them.)
The episode is only 29 minutes long and honestly, even if I weren’t in it, I’d think it was one of the best things ever done on the cholesterol controversy.
Next week I’ll share with you part two (on statin drugs).
