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{{short description|British cardiologist and writer}} {{short description|British cardiologist and writer}}
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{{Infobox person {{Infobox person
| name = Aseem Malhotra | name = Aseem Malhotra
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|death_place = |death_place =
|occupation = Cardiologist, writer |occupation = Cardiologist, writer
|website = {{url|doctoraseem.com}} |website = {{URL|draseemmalhotra.co.uk}}
}} }}
'''Aseem Malhotra''' is a British ],<ref name="sbm" /> ]er,<ref name="KF" /> and author, who became well known during the COVID-19 pandemic after being accused of spreading ].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|last=Goldhamer|first=Marisha|date=14 October 2022|title=UK cardiologist misleads on Covid-19 vaccine safety|work=AFP|url=https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32L483D|access-date=23 October 2022}}</ref> He contends that people should reduce sugar in their diet,<ref name="ST5002016" /> adopt a low-carb and high-fat diet,<ref name="bda" /> and reduce their use of prescription drugs.<ref name="HSJ2014BME" /> He was the first science director of ] in 2014,<ref name="OHaraGuardian">{{cite news|last1=O'Hara|first1=Mary|date=18 November 2015|title='We need to make people get angry about sugar' says cardiologist campaigner {{!}} Mary O'Hara|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/18/aseem-malhotra-sugar-campaigner-prevent-obesity-public-pressure-on-government}}</ref> was listed as one of '']'' 500 most influential people in 2016,<ref name="ST5002016">{{cite news |date=24 January 2016 |title=Britain's 500 Most Influential |publisher=Sunday Times |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britains-500-most-influential-fxtzx0sg7qd |access-date=3 September 2021 |archive-date=4 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904165524/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britains-500-most-influential-fxtzx0sg7qd |url-status=live }}</ref> and was twice recognized as one of the top fifty black and minority ethnic community member pioneers in the UK's ] by the '']''.<ref name="HSJ2014BME" /><ref name="HSJ2013BME" /> Malhotra is co-author of a book called ''The Pioppi Diet''.<ref>Mellor, Duane. (2017). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030205640/https://life.spectator.co.uk/articles/dietitians-like-me-dont-take-the-pioppi-diet-seriously/ |date=30 October 2019 }}. '']''. Retrieved 2 December 2018.</ref>
{{overly detailed|date=November 2022}}
{{coatrack|details=there is too much focus on the controversies surrounding saturated fat, statins and cholesterol in general, which is undue and outside the scope of this biography|date=November 2022}}
'''Aseem Malhotra''' is a controversial British ],<ref name="sbm" /> public ]er,<ref name="KF" /> author of several books, and writer of newspaper articles, and ] proponant.. He campaigns for people to reduce sugar in their diet,<ref name="ST5002016" /> promotes a low-carb, high-fat diet,<ref name=bda/> and encourages the reduction of medical overprescribing.<ref name="HSJ2014BME" /> He was the first science director of ] in 2014.<ref name="OHaraGuardian">{{cite news|last1=O'Hara|first1=Mary|date=18 November 2015|title='We need to make people get angry about sugar' says cardiologist campaigner {{!}} Mary O'Hara|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/18/aseem-malhotra-sugar-campaigner-prevent-obesity-public-pressure-on-government}}</ref> He has been listed as one of '']'' 500 most influential people<ref name="ST5002016">{{cite news |date= 24 January 2016 | title=Britain's 500 Most Influential |publisher=Sunday Times |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britains-500-most-influential-fxtzx0sg7qd |access-date= 3 September 2021}}</ref> and was twice recognized as one of the top fifty black and minority ethnic community member pioneers in the UK's ] by the '']''.<ref name="HSJ2013BME" /><ref name="HSJ2014BME" /> Malhotra is co-author of a controversial book called ''The Pioppi Diet''.<ref>Mellor, Duane. (2017). . '']''. Retrieved 2 December 2018.</ref>


His views on diet and health have been criticized by the ] as "misleading and wrong", and his public questioning of the need ever to use ]s has been condemned as a danger to public health.<ref name="ButterNonsense"/> His "Pioppi diet" was named by the ] as one of the "top 5 worst ] to avoid in 2018".<ref name=bda/> During the ], Malhotra published a book called ''The 21-Day Immunity Plan'',<ref name="EuropeanScientist" /> which claims that following the diet can quickly help people reduce their risk from the virus; such claims are not backed by medical research evidence.<ref name=sbm/> Despite initially campaigning for the COVID virus,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-26 |title=Dr. Aseem Malhotra who promoted COVID-19 vaccine on TV calls for its immediate suspension to investigate serious side effects |url=https://aosis.co.za/news-dr-aseem-malhotra-who-promoted-covid-19-vaccine-on-tv-calls-for-its-immediate-suspension-to-investigate-serious-side-effects/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=AOSIS |language=en-ZA}}</ref> he later campaigned against the use of COVID ]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chumley|first=Cheryl|date=27 September 2022|title=Pro-COVID-19 vaccine doc calls for stop to shots|work=Washington Times|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/sep/27/pro-covid-19-shot-doc-calls-stop-shots/|url-status=live|access-date=6 October 2022}}</ref> contrary to the available evidence.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-06 |title=Article by cardiologist Aseem Malhotra made unsupported claims about the benefits and risks of COVID-19 vaccination |url=https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/article-by-cardiologist-aseem-malhotra-made-unsupported-claims-about-benefits-risks-covid-19-vaccination/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=Health Feedback |language=en-US}}</ref> His views on diet and health have been criticized by the ] as "misleading and wrong", and his public questioning of the need ever to use ]s has been condemned as a danger to public health.<ref name="ButterNonsense"/> His "Pioppi diet" was named by the ] as one of the "top 5 worst ] to avoid in 2018".<ref name=bda/>

During the ], Malhotra published a book called ''The 21-Day Immunity Plan'',<ref name="EuropeanScientist" /> which claimed, without the backing of evidence from medical research, that following the diet can quickly help people reduce their risk from the virus.<ref name="sbm" /> Despite initially campaigning for the COVID vaccine,<ref name=":0" /> he later campaigned against the use of COVID ]<ref name=":1" /> contrary to the available evidence.<ref name=":2" />


==Biography== ==Biography==


===Early Influences=== ===Early influences===

Malhotra was born in ] in India in October 1977. He was the younger son of two doctors: Kailash Chand and Anisha Malhotra.<ref name="Pulse">{{cite news|last1=Chand|first1=Kailash|date=3 December 2018|title=Obituary: Dr Anisha Malhotra – dedicated GP, wife and mother|work=Pulse Today|url=https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/views/contract/obituary-dr-anisha-malhotra-dedicated-gp-wife-and-mother/|access-date=30 August 2021|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830153123/https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/views/contract/obituary-dr-anisha-malhotra-dedicated-gp-wife-and-mother/|url-status=live}}</ref> The family moved to Britain in 1978 when his father had a clinical attachment at ] and was studying for a Diploma in Tropical Medicine at ].<ref name="TRObituary">{{cite news|last1=Higgins|first1=Adam|date=26 July 2021|title=Tributes to Former Thameside GP and NHS Campaigner who has died|work=Thameside Reporter|url=https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/news/tameside-reporter/tributes-to-former-tameside-gp-and-nhs-campaigner-who-has-died/|access-date=30 August 2021|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830153129/https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/news/tameside-reporter/tributes-to-former-tameside-gp-and-nhs-campaigner-who-has-died/|url-status=live}}</ref> Both parents became ]s in ], Greater Manchester. In 1988 Malhotra's brother Amit, who was two years older than Malhotra and had been born with ],<ref name="BMAObituary">{{cite news|last1=Trueland|first1=Jennifer|date=2 August 2021|title=Doctors mourn passing of unique BMA leader|work=BMA|url=https://www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/doctors-mourn-passing-of-unique-bma-leader|access-date=30 August 2021|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830153121/https://www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/doctors-mourn-passing-of-unique-bma-leader|url-status=live}}</ref> died of heart failure aged thirteen. This inspired Malhotra with the ambition to become a cardiologist.<ref name="OHaraGuardian" /> Malhotra was educated at ].<ref name="OHaraGuardian" />


Malhotra was born in ] in India in October 1977. He was the younger son of two doctors: Kailash Chand and Anisha Malhotra.<ref name="Pulse">{{cite news|last1=Chand|first1=Kailash|date=3 December 2018|title=Obituary: Dr Anisha Malhotra – dedicated GP, wife and mother|work=Pulse Today|url=https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/views/contract/obituary-dr-anisha-malhotra-dedicated-gp-wife-and-mother/}}</ref> The family moved to Britain in 1978 when his father had a clinical attachment at ] and was studying for a Diploma in Tropical Medicine at ].<ref name="TRObituary">{{cite news|last1=Higgins|first1=Adam|date=26 July 2021|title=Tributes to Former Thameside GP and NHS Campaigner who has died|work=Thameside Reporter|url=https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/news/tameside-reporter/tributes-to-former-tameside-gp-and-nhs-campaigner-who-has-died/}}</ref> Both parents became ]s in ], Greater Manchester. In 1988 Malhotra's brother Amit, who was two years older than Malhotra and had been born with ],<ref name="BMAObituary">{{cite news|last1=Trueland|first1=Jennifer|date=2 August 2021|title=Doctors mourn passing of unique BMA leader|work=BMA|url=https://www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/doctors-mourn-passing-of-unique-bma-leader}}</ref> died of heart failure aged thirteen. This inspired Malhotra with the ambition to become a cardiologist.<ref name="OHaraGuardian" /> Malhotra was educated at Manchester Grammar School.<ref name="OHaraGuardian" /> Malhotra's father went on to become the first Asian to be elected as honorary vice-president and deputy chair of the council of the ] and received an ] for long-standing service to the ].<ref name="GuardianObituary">{{cite news|last1=Quach|first1=Georgina|date=27 July 2021|title=Respected GP and fearless defender of NHS dies at 73|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/27/respected-gp-and-fearless-defender-of-nhs-dies-at-73-kailash-chand}}</ref> Malhotra's mother's religious faith was important to her<ref name="Pulse" /> and Malhotra observed that she fasted weekly by only consuming one meal on a fast day.<ref name="INewsBlame">{{cite news|last1=Gallagher|first1=Paul|date=27 February 2019|title=NHS cardiologist says mother's vegetarian diet contributed to premature and painful death|work=INews|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/aseem-malhotra-mother-died-early-vegetarian-diet-cause-263614}}</ref> He was quoted later as claiming his mother's vegetarian diet contributed to her 'premature and painful death' and said he hoped "we can learn that much of these ills are preventable."<ref name="INewsBlame" /> Malhotra's father went on to become the first Asian to be elected as honorary vice-president and deputy chair of the council of the ] and received an ] for long-standing service to the ].<ref name="GuardianObituary">{{cite news|last1=Quach|first1=Georgina|date=27 July 2021|title=Respected GP and fearless defender of NHS dies at 73|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/27/respected-gp-and-fearless-defender-of-nhs-dies-at-73-kailash-chand}}</ref> Malhotra's mother's religious faith was important to her<ref name="Pulse" /> and Malhotra observed that she fasted weekly by only consuming one meal on a fast day.<ref name="INewsBlame">{{cite news|last1=Gallagher|first1=Paul|date=27 February 2019|title=NHS cardiologist says mother's vegetarian diet contributed to premature and painful death|work=INews|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/aseem-malhotra-mother-died-early-vegetarian-diet-cause-263614}}</ref> He was quoted later as claiming his mother's vegetarian diet contributed to her 'premature and painful death' and said he hoped "we can learn that much of these ills are preventable."<ref name="INewsBlame" />


===Career=== ===Career===


Malhotra studied medicine at the ] and graduated in 2001.<ref name="EdinUni">{{cite web | title=Aseem Malhotra |date=22 September 2016 |publisher= University of Edinburgh |url=https://www.ed.ac.uk/alumni/services/profiles/graduation/2000s/aseem-malhotra | access-date=23 September 2021 }}</ref> He spent his foundation years as a doctor in Scotland, at ] then at the ] and finally at ] which specialises in care of the elderly.<ref name="EdinUni" /> He completed his ] during two years working at the ].<ref name="EdinUni" /> He held specialist registrar positions at ] in ] and ].<ref name="EdinUni" /> Malhotra studied medicine at the ] and graduated in 2001.<ref name="EdinUni">{{cite web | title=Aseem Malhotra | date=22 September 2016 | publisher=University of Edinburgh | url=https://www.ed.ac.uk/alumni/services/profiles/graduation/2000s/aseem-malhotra | access-date=23 September 2021 | archive-date=23 September 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923211051/https://www.ed.ac.uk/alumni/services/profiles/graduation/2000s/aseem-malhotra | url-status=live }}</ref> He spent his foundation years as a doctor in Scotland, at ] then at the ] and finally at ] which specialises in care of the elderly.<ref name="EdinUni" /> He completed his ] during two years working at the ].<ref name="EdinUni" /> He held specialist registrar positions at ] in ] and ].<ref name="EdinUni" />


Malhotra has held cardiology posts with the UK ] as a cardiology specialist registrar at ],<ref name="EdinUni" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Lose weight and live longer: Dr Aseem Malhotra reveals the secrets of the world's healthiest village |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/lose-weight-live-longer-dr-aseem-malhotra-reveals-secrets-worlds/ |accessdate=4 December 2018 |publisher=Telegraph |date=25 June 2017}}</ref> at the ] in Hampstead<ref name="EdinUni" /> and as an Honorary Consultant ] at ].<ref name="BJSM01" /><ref name="BioMedCentral01">{{cite journal |last1=Hobbs |first1=FD Richard |last2=Banach |first2=Maciej |last3=Mikhailidis |first3=Dimitri P. |last4=Malhotra |first4=Aseem |last5=Capewell |first5=Simon |title=Is statin-modified reduction in lipids the most important preventive therapy for cardiovascular disease? A pro/con debate |journal=BMC Medicine |date=14 January 2016 |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=4 |doi=10.1186/s12916-016-0550-5|pmid=26769594 |pmc=4714436 |doi-access=free }}</ref> He is a former Consultant Clinical Associate to the ]<ref name="BJSM01">{{cite journal |last1=Malhotra |first1=A |last2=Noakes |first2=T |last3=Phinney |first3=S |title=It is time to bust the myth of physical inactivity and obesity: you cannot outrun a bad diet |journal=British Journal of Sports Medicine |date=August 2015 |volume=49 |issue=15 |pages=967–968 |doi=10.1136/bjsports-2015-094911|pmid=25904145 |s2cid=31361420 }}</ref> and is a visiting professor at Bahiana School of Medicine and Public Health, Salvador, Brazil.<ref name="Bahiana">{{cite web |date=30 August 2018 | title= Bahiana no The Guardian |publisher=Bahiana University |url=https://www.bahiana.edu.br/noticia/30220/bahiana-no-the-guardian |access-date= 7 September 2021}}</ref><ref name=PHC2021>{{cite web |date= 2021 | title= Aseem Malhotra (Chair) |publisher=Public Health Collaboration |url=https://phcuk.org/members/dr-aseem-malhotra/ |access-date= 6 September 2021}}</ref> In 2015 he was appointed as a trustee of the ] and was reappointed for a further three years in 2018.<ref name="KF">{{cite news |title=The King's Fund welcomes Dr Aseem Malhotra as a new trustee |url=https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/press/press-releases/kings-fund-welcomes-dr-aseem-malhotra-new-trustee |date=26 August 2015 |accessdate=6 September 2021 |publisher=Kings Fund}}{{unreliable source?|date=November 2022}}</ref><ref name="KF2018Trustees">{{cite report |title=Trustee's Annual report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 December 2018 |publisher=Kings Fund |date=2018 |url=https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-08/trustees-annual-report-2018.pdf |access-date= 1 September 2021}}</ref> Malhotra has held cardiology posts with the UK ] as a cardiology specialist registrar at ],<ref name="EdinUni" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Lose weight and live longer: Dr Aseem Malhotra reveals the secrets of the world's healthiest village |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/lose-weight-live-longer-dr-aseem-malhotra-reveals-secrets-worlds/ |accessdate=4 December 2018 |publisher=Telegraph |date=25 June 2017 |archive-date=4 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204213702/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/lose-weight-live-longer-dr-aseem-malhotra-reveals-secrets-worlds/ |url-status=live }}</ref> at the ] in Hampstead<ref name="EdinUni" /> and as an Honorary Consultant ] at ].<ref name="BJSM01" /><ref name="BioMedCentral01">{{cite journal |last1=Hobbs |first1=FD Richard |last2=Banach |first2=Maciej |last3=Mikhailidis |first3=Dimitri P. |last4=Malhotra |first4=Aseem |last5=Capewell |first5=Simon |title=Is statin-modified reduction in lipids the most important preventive therapy for cardiovascular disease? A pro/con debate |journal=BMC Medicine |date=14 January 2016 |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=4 |doi=10.1186/s12916-016-0550-5|pmid=26769594 |pmc=4714436 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and ] in Stevenage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Swiss Re Profile: Aseem Malhotra |url=https://www.swissre.com/profile/Aseem_Malhotra/ep_b61526 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240414102037/https://www.swissre.com/profile/Aseem_Malhotra/ep_b61526 |archive-date=14 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |website=Swiss Re}}</ref> When ] was founded in 2014, he became its first Science Director.<ref name="OHaraGuardian"/> He is a former Consultant Clinical Associate to the ].<ref name="BJSM01">{{cite journal |last1=Malhotra |first1=A |last2=Noakes |first2=T |last3=Phinney |first3=S |title=It is time to bust the myth of physical inactivity and obesity: you cannot outrun a bad diet |journal=British Journal of Sports Medicine |date=August 2015 |volume=49 |issue=15 |pages=967–968 |doi=10.1136/bjsports-2015-094911|pmid=25904145 |s2cid=31361420 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2018 he was a visiting professor at Bahiana School of Medicine and Public Health, Salvador, Brazil.<ref name="Bahiana">{{cite web |date=30 August 2018 |title=Bahiana no The Guardian |publisher=Bahiana University |url=https://www.bahiana.edu.br/noticia/30220/bahiana-no-the-guardian |access-date=7 September 2021 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918071646/https://www.bahiana.edu.br/noticia/30220/bahiana-no-the-guardian/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015 he was appointed as a trustee of the ] and was reappointed for a further three years in 2018.<ref name="KF">{{cite news |title=The King's Fund welcomes Dr Aseem Malhotra as a new trustee |url=https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/press/press-releases/kings-fund-welcomes-dr-aseem-malhotra-new-trustee |date=26 August 2015 |accessdate=6 September 2021 |publisher=Kings Fund |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906224109/https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/press/press-releases/kings-fund-welcomes-dr-aseem-malhotra-new-trustee |url-status=live }}{{unreliable source?|date=November 2022}}</ref><ref name="KF2018Trustees">{{cite report |title=Trustee's Annual report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 December 2018 |publisher=Kings Fund |date=2018 |url=https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-08/trustees-annual-report-2018.pdf |access-date=1 September 2021 |archive-date=1 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901133948/https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-08/trustees-annual-report-2018.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2021, Malhotra was appointed chair of the scientific advisory committee<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) – Public Health Collaboration |url=https://phcuk.org/sac/ |access-date=2023-01-17 |language=en-GB |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117114352/https://phcuk.org/sac/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=PHC2021>{{cite web |date=2021 |title=Aseem Malhotra (Chair) |publisher=Public Health Collaboration |url=https://phcuk.org/members/dr-aseem-malhotra/ |access-date=6 September 2021 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906222624/https://phcuk.org/members/dr-aseem-malhotra/ |url-status=live }}</ref> of the small UK charity The Public Health Collaboration.<ref name="INewsPHC">{{cite news| last1=Gallagher |first1=Paul |title= Doctors create rival to 'failing' Public Health England in bid to boost nation's health |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/doctors-create-rival-failing-public-health-england-bid-boost-nations-health-1162314 |date=23 August 2021 |access-date=9 October 2021 |publisher=INews }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=PUBLIC HEALTH COLLABORATION - Charity 1171887 |url=https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5087480 |access-date=2023-01-17 |website=register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk |language=en-GB |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117114351/https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5087480 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 20 Feb 2023, the Public Health Collaboration announced that Malhotra was no longer part of the organisation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PHCukorg |url=https://twitter.com/PHCukorg/status/1627676678817255429 |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref>
In addition to his work as a cardiologist, he has been described as a "highly regarded public health campaigner" and an anti-obesity expert<ref name="KF"/> who is "passionate about tackling the companies and policies responsible for creating ... an obesogenic environment".<ref name="Sustain">{{cite news |last1=Clarke |first1=Malcolm | title= Children's Food Campaign |publisher=Sustain |url=https://www.sustainweb.org/news/dec13_food_heroes/ |date= 20 December 2013 |access-date= 1 September 2021}}{{unreliable source?|date=November 2022}}</ref> Malhotra explains that his professional work has motivated his public health campaigning:" ..having seen the unspeakable suffering caused by diet-related diseases, I would much rather these patients did not develop them in the first place."<ref name=BBC2012 >{{cite web| first1=Aseem |last1=Malhotra |title=Viewpoint: Ban junk food sponsors from Olympic sports |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18708790 |date=9 July 2012 |access-date=21 December 2021 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> In 2013 he was recognized in the inaugural list of the top 50 BME Pioneers in the NHS Health Service Journal, for his research on sugar rich diets and obesity and cardio-vascular disease and for his public health campaigns, including profit-making of big corporations at the expense of public health, unhealthy hospital meals and sale of junk food in hospitals <ref name="HSJ2013BME">{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Jennifer |date= 27 November 2013 | title= HSJ BME Pioneers 2013 |publisher=Health Services Journal |url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/supplement-archive/hsj-bme-pioneers-2013/5065832.article |access-date= 1 September 2021}}</ref> The judges commented that "Yes. He challenges people".<ref name="HSJ2013BME"/> In 2014 he was recognized for a second year running in the Health Services Journal top 50 BME Pioneers: described by the judges as "An upcoming star", the entry recognized that he had ignited a debate about over-investigation, over-diagnosis and overmedication and brought media attention to the BMJ's "Too much medicine" campaign.<ref name="HSJ2014BME">{{cite news |last1=Gbadamosi |first1=Nosmot |last2=Paton |first2=Nic |date= 6 November 2014 | title= HSJ BME Pioneers 2014 |publisher=Health Services Journal |url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/supplement-archive/hsj-bme-pioneers-2014/5076440.article |access-date= 1 September 2021}}</ref>


In January 2023, a group of doctors, including some General Practitioners, called on the General Medical Council to investigate Aseem Malhotra's fitness to practice due to what they claim is his ‘high-profile promotion of misinformation about Covid-19 mRNA vaccines’.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parr |first=Eliza |date=5 June 2023 |title=Doctors to take legal action against GMC over 'inaction' on Covid vaccine misinformation |url=https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/regulation/doctors-to-take-legal-action-against-gmc-over-inaction-on-covid-vaccine-misinformation/ |access-date=22 June 2023 |website=www.pulsetoday.co.uk |archive-date=22 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622014802/https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/regulation/doctors-to-take-legal-action-against-gmc-over-inaction-on-covid-vaccine-misinformation/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 2 June 2023, the doctors took the first formal step in legal proceedings against the GMC by sending them the formal pre-action protocol letter. This stated 'we are bringing this legal action because we believe that the GMC, as the official regulator of doctors’ professional standards, has a duty to act in this case.'<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 June 2023 |title=We need your help to ensure the GMC delivers on its main obligation - to protect the public |url=https://actions.goodlawproject.org/gmc |access-date=22 June 2023 |archive-date=22 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622014801/https://actions.goodlawproject.org/gmc |url-status=live }}</ref> On 15 February 2024 the GMC stated that it had identified an error in its decision making.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statement on Judicial Review of our handling of complaints about Dr Aseem Malhotra|url=https://www.gmc-uk.org/news/news-archive/statement-on-judicial-review-of-our-handling-of-complaints-about-dr-aseem-malhotra|website=GMC|access-date=16 February 2024|archive-date=16 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216163928/https://www.gmc-uk.org/news/news-archive/statement-on-judicial-review-of-our-handling-of-complaints-about-dr-aseem-malhotra|url-status=live}}</ref>
At the end of 2013, Malhotra won the accolade of being named a "Food Hero" for the Children's Food Campaign for his campaigning against junk food being marketed to children and sugar filled vending machines in hospitals.<ref name="Sustain" /> When ] was founded in 2014, he was its first Science Director.<ref name="OHaraGuardian"/> Later in that year, his campaigning on sugar led to his being featured in the ] as being one of ten of London's brightest stars working in science and technology.<ref name="EvStd2014supersmart">{{cite news |last1=Urwin |first1=Rosamund |date= 16 October 2014 | title= The super smart set: 10 of London's clever clogs and big brains |publisher=Evening Standard |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/the-super-smart-set-10-of-london-s-clever-clogs-and-big-brains-9797754.html |access-date= 1 September 2021}}</ref> In 2018 the ]'s health correspondent, Sarah Boseley, labelled Malhotra as a "dissident scientist", "statin critic" and "cholesterol sceptic".<ref name="ButterNonsense" /> In 2021, Malhotra was appointed chair of the charity The Public Health Collaboration.<ref name="PHC2021" /><ref name="INewsPHC">{{cite news| last1=Gallagher |first1=Paul |title= Doctors create rival to 'failing' Public Health England in bid to boost nation's health |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/doctors-create-rival-failing-public-health-england-bid-boost-nations-health-1162314 |date=23 August 2021 |access-date=9 October 2021 |publisher=INews }}</ref>

On 4 August 2023 Malhotra announced <ref></ref> he had been appointed co-chair of the London division of the ] (BAPIO). Later the same day the announcement was removed from BAPIO's website.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bapio.co.uk/dr-aseem-malhotra-joins-bapio-london-division-as-co-chair/ |title=Co-Chair announcement by BAPIO - removed 4 August 2023 |access-date=4 August 2023 |archive-date=4 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804060321/https://www.bapio.co.uk/dr-aseem-malhotra-joins-bapio-london-division-as-co-chair/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==Public health campaigns and misinformation == ==Public health campaigns and misinformation ==
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===Reducing the consumption of sugar and junk foods=== ===Reducing the consumption of sugar and junk foods===


Malhotra campaigns about reducing the consumption of sugar and junk foods, particularly in the diet of children.<ref name=HuffJuly2012>{{cite web |last1=Malhotra|first1=Aseem| title=To Combat Obesity We Must Alter Our Environment |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-aseem-malhotra/to-combat-obesity-we-must-alter-our-environment_b_1681784.html |date=18 July 2012 |publisher=Huffpost |access-date=21 December 2021}}{{third-party inline|date=November 2022}} </ref> The fact that most people in Britain, including children, eat too much sugar and that this contributes to obesity is acknowledged by the NHS healthy eating guidelines.<ref name="Eatwell1" /><ref name=NHS8tips>{{cite web | title=8 tips for healthy eating | date=27 April 2018 | url=https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/eight-tips-for-healthy-eating/ |publisher=NHS |access-date=21 December 2021}}</ref><ref name=NHSsugar>{{cite web |title=How to cut down on sugar in your diet |date=27 April 2018 |url=https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-cut-down-on-sugar-in-your-diet/ |publisher=NHS | access-date=21 December 2021 }}</ref> However, Malhotra argues that it is unrealistic to expect individuals to avoid cheap, unhealthy, heavily marketed foods and that changes to regulation are needed.<ref name=HuffJuly2012 /> He draws analogies to the regulations on tobacco that were necessary to reduce smoking.<ref name=HuffOct2012 >{{cite web |last1=Malhotra|first1=Aseem|title=How False Advertising by Big Food Is Driving Obesity |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-aseem-malhotra/false-advertising-by-big-food-driving-obesity_b_1968682.html |date=16 October 2012 |publisher=Huffpost |access-date=21 December 2021 }}</ref> He also thinks that vending machines in hospitals selling sweets and junk foods send the wrong message.<ref name=HuffOct2012 /> At the time of the London Olympics in 2012, he criticized the choice of sponsors: writing that "In the context of an obesity epidemic I find it obscene that the Olympics chooses to associate itself with fast food, sugary drinks, chocolate and alcohol."<ref name=BBC2012 /> His campaigns on these topics have brought him recognition and accolades including as a children's food hero in 2013, one of the top 50 BME pioneers in the NHS in 2013, one of London's brightest stars working in Science and Technology in 2014, and one of the top 500 most influential people in the UK in 2016.<ref name="Sustain" /><ref name="HSJ2013BME" /><ref name="EvStd2014supersmart" /><ref name="ST5002016" /> Malhotra campaigns about reducing the consumption of sugar and junk foods, particularly for children.<ref name=HuffJuly2012>{{cite web|last1=Malhotra|first1=Aseem|title=To Combat Obesity We Must Alter Our Environment|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-aseem-malhotra/to-combat-obesity-we-must-alter-our-environment_b_1681784.html|date=18 July 2012|publisher=Huffpost|access-date=21 December 2021|archive-date=21 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221202457/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-aseem-malhotra/to-combat-obesity-we-must-alter-our-environment_b_1681784.html|url-status=live}}{{third-party inline|date=November 2022}}</ref> Malhotra argues that it is unrealistic to expect individuals to avoid cheap, unhealthy, heavily marketed foods and that changes to regulation are needed.<ref name=HuffJuly2012 /> He draws analogies to the regulations on tobacco needed to reduce smoking.<ref name=HuffOct2012 >{{cite web |last1=Malhotra |first1=Aseem |title=How False Advertising by Big Food Is Driving Obesity |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-aseem-malhotra/false-advertising-by-big-food-driving-obesity_b_1968682.html |date=16 October 2012 |publisher=Huffpost |access-date=21 December 2021 |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221202457/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-aseem-malhotra/false-advertising-by-big-food-driving-obesity_b_1968682.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He believes that hospital vending machines which sell sweets or junk food sends the wrong message.<ref name=HuffOct2012 /> At the time of the London Olympics in 2012, he criticized the choice of sponsors: writing that "In the context of an obesity epidemic I find it obscene that the Olympics chooses to associate itself with fast food, sugary drinks, chocolate and alcohol."<ref name=BBC2012 />
His campaigns on these topics have brought him recognition and accolades including as a children's food hero in 2013, one of the top 50 BME pioneers in the NHS in 2013, one of London's brightest stars working in Science and Technology in 2014, and one of the Times Top 500 most influential people in the UK in 2016.<ref name="Sustain" /><ref name="HSJ2013BME" /><ref name="EvStd2014supersmart" /><ref name="ST5002016" />


===Pioppi diet and low carb diet advocacy=== ===Pioppi diet and low carb diet advocacy===


The established consensus on what constitutes a healthy diet for the general population of adults in the UK is described in the ] ] Guidelines.<ref name="Eatwell1">{{cite web |title= Eat Well |date= 26 April 2018|url= https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/|publisher=NHS |access-date=2 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="Eatwell2">{{cite web |title= The Eat Well Guide |date= 27 April 2018|url= https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide//|publisher=NHS |access-date=2 September 2021}}</ref> The recommendation is for a balanced diet consisting of carbohydrates, protein and fat. This should include at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day, meals based on higher fibre starchy foods, plenty of fluids, some protein, some dairy or dairy alternatives and limited amounts of fat, which should be unsaturated. Foods high in fat, salt or sugar, should be not be eaten often and should be eaten only in small amounts. The NHS makes the points that most people are overweight or obese and need to reduce the amount of calories they eat, and most people don't eat enough vegetables or fruit, fibre or fish.{{Overly detailed inline|date=November 2022}} The guidelines also state that people should eat less red meat and less processed meat. The guidelines apply to the general population of adults: people with medical conditions should consult their doctor for individual advice and people with medical or dietary conditions may need to consult a dietician to tailor the guidelines.<ref name="Eatwell1"/> The UK consensus guidance on a healthy diet<ref name="Eatwell1">{{cite web |date=26 April 2018 |title=Eat Well |url=https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/ |access-date=2 September 2021 |publisher=NHS |archive-date=7 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007215052/https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Eatwell2">{{cite web |date=27 April 2018 |title=The Eat Well Guide |url=https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide// |access-date=2 September 2021 |publisher=NHS |archive-date=2 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902120408/https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide// |url-status=live }}</ref> recommends a balanced diet consisting of carbohydrates, protein and fat, with foods high in fat, salt or sugar, being eaten rarely and only in small amounts.


==== ''The Pioppi Diet'' ====
Malhotra is a proponent of ]s and in 2017 he co-authored a low carb diet book called the "Pioppi diet",<ref name="BJGPPioppi">{{cite journal |last1=Gerada |first1=Claire |title=Books: The Pioppi diet: A 21 day lifestyle plan |date=September 2017 |journal=British Journal of General Practice |volume=67 |issue=662 |pages=414 |doi=10.3399/bjgp17X692417 |pmid=28860295 |pmc=5569730 }}</ref><ref name="ConvLowCarb">{{cite web |title= Low carb, Paleo or fasting – which diet is best? |url= https://theconversation.com/low-carb-paleo-or-fasting-which-diet-is-best-89685//|publisher=NHS |access-date=2 September 2021}}</ref> which provides a 21-day eating plan. Malhotra's personal royalties from the book are donated to charity.<ref name="InewsPioppi"/> The book recommends the daily consumption of two to four table spoons of ], a small handful of tree nuts, five to seven portions of fibrous vegetables and low sugar fruits and ] at least three times a week. It advises people to avoid all added sugars, fruit juice, honey, and syrups, packaged refined carbohydrates, in particular anything flour based including all bread, pastries, cakes, biscuits, ]s, packaged noodles, pasta, ] and rice and ]s.<ref name="BBCGoodfood">{{cite news |last1=Torrens |first1=Kerry |title=What is the Pioppi diet? |url=https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-pioppi-diet |accessdate=4 December 2018 |publisher=BBC |date=29 August 2018}}</ref> Very dark chocolate, butter, coconut oil, cheese, yoghurt are allowed.<ref name="InewsPioppi" /> The moderate consumption of alcohol is allowed but only within the limits set by the NHS and a maximum of 500g of red meat per week is recommended in line with the recommendations of the World Cancer Research Fund.<ref name="InewsPioppi">{{cite news |last1=Molhatra |first1=Aseem |title=I came up with the low carb diet Tom Watson used to lose seven stone. This is how it works |url=https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/i-came-up-with-the-low-carb-diet-tom-watson-used-to-lose-seven-stone-heres-how-it-works/ |accessdate=4 December 2018 |publisher=I news |date=23 September 2018}}</ref> It promotes a higher fat intake with fewer carbs than the NHS reference intakes.<ref name="BBCGoodfood"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Reference intakes explained |url=https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/what-are-reference-intakes-on-food-labels/ |website=NHS UK |date=27 April 2018 |accessdate=4 December 2018}}</ref>{{Overly detailed inline|date=November 2022}} Malhotra is a proponent of ] such as ]s and in 2017 he co-authored a low carb diet book called ''The Pioppi Diet'',<ref name="BJGPPioppi">{{cite journal |last1=Gerada |first1=Claire |title=Books: The Pioppi diet: A 21 day lifestyle plan |date=September 2017 |journal=British Journal of General Practice |volume=67 |issue=662 |pages=414 |doi=10.3399/bjgp17X692417 |pmid=28860295 |pmc=5569730 }}</ref><ref name="ConvLowCarb">{{cite web|title= Low carb, Paleo or fasting – which diet is best?|date= 31 January 2018|url= https://theconversation.com/low-carb-paleo-or-fasting-which-diet-is-best-89685//|publisher= NHS|access-date= 2 September 2021|archive-date= 3 September 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210903200246/https://theconversation.com/low-carb-paleo-or-fasting-which-diet-is-best-89685//|url-status= live}}</ref> which provides a 21-day eating plan. Malhotra's personal royalties from the book are donated to charity.<ref name="InewsPioppi" /> The book recommends the daily consumption of two to four table spoons of ], a small handful of tree nuts, five to seven portions of fibrous vegetables and low sugar fruits and ] at least three times a week. It advises people to avoid all added sugars, fruit juice, honey, and syrups, refined carbohydrates, anything flour based (including all bread, pastries, cakes, biscuits, ]s, packaged noodles, pasta, ] and rice and ]s).<ref name="BBCGoodfood">{{cite news |last1=Torrens |first1=Kerry |title=What is the Pioppi diet? |url=https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-pioppi-diet |accessdate=4 December 2018 |publisher=BBC |date=29 August 2018 |archive-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003407/https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-pioppi-diet |url-status=live }}</ref> Very dark chocolate, butter, coconut oil, cheese, yoghurt are allowed.<ref name="InewsPioppi" /> The moderate consumption of alcohol is allowed but only within the limits set by the NHS and a maximum of 500g of red meat per week is recommended in line with the recommendations of the World Cancer Research Fund.<ref name="InewsPioppi">{{cite news |last1=Molhatra |first1=Aseem |title=I came up with the low carb diet Tom Watson used to lose seven stone. This is how it works |url=https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/i-came-up-with-the-low-carb-diet-tom-watson-used-to-lose-seven-stone-heres-how-it-works/ |accessdate=4 December 2018 |publisher=I news |date=23 September 2018 |archive-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003221/https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/i-came-up-with-the-low-carb-diet-tom-watson-used-to-lose-seven-stone-heres-how-it-works/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It promotes a higher fat intake with fewer carbs than the NHS reference intakes.<ref name="BBCGoodfood" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Reference intakes explained |url=https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/what-are-reference-intakes-on-food-labels/ |website=NHS UK |date=27 April 2018 |accessdate=4 December 2018 |archive-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003403/https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/what-are-reference-intakes-on-food-labels/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The diet is called ] after the Italian village recognized as the home of the ].<ref name="BBCGoodfood" /> The authors use the lifestyles of residents of the town to explain the principles of a healthier lifestyle and the book also explains how policy changes are needed to change the obesogenic environment.<ref name="BJGPPioppi" />


The diet is called ] after the Italian village recognized as the home of the ].<ref name="BBCGoodfood"/> The authors use the lifestyles of residents of the town to explain the principles of a healthier Lifestyle and the book also explains how policy changes are needed to change the obesogenic environment.<ref name="BJGPPioppi" /> The Pioppi diet book has endorsements from then ] (MP) ] and Dame ], Chair of the ].<ref name="BJGPPioppi" /> ], who was the chair of the ] on diabetes, promoted it to fellow ]<ref name="InewsKV">{{cite news | last1=Gallagher |first1=Paul |title=Keith Vaz tells 100 MPs to take up the Pioppi diet over summer |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/keith-vaz-pioppi-diet-mps-challenge-summer-80061 |accessdate=3 September 2021 |publisher=I news |date=21 July 2017}}</ref> and then ] and Labour Deputy Leader, ], lost seven stones in less than twelve months by following the diet, putting his ] into remission in the process.<ref name="InewsTW" >{{cite news | last1=Sandhu |first1=Serina |title=Tom Watson says his Type 2 diabetes went into remission after following a strict diet |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/tom-watson-lose-weight-pioppi-diet-sugar-free-196373/ |accessdate=3 September 2021 |publisher=I news |date=12 September 2018}}</ref> The Pioppi diet book has endorsements from then ] (MP) ] and Dame ], Chair of the ].<ref name="BJGPPioppi" /> ], who was the chair of the ] on diabetes, promoted it to fellow ]<ref name="InewsKV">{{cite news |last1=Gallagher |first1=Paul |title=Keith Vaz tells 100 MPs to take up the Pioppi diet over summer |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/keith-vaz-pioppi-diet-mps-challenge-summer-80061 |accessdate=3 September 2021 |publisher=I news |date=21 July 2017 |archive-date=3 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903200246/https://inews.co.uk/news/health/keith-vaz-pioppi-diet-mps-challenge-summer-80061 |url-status=live }}</ref> and then ] and Labour Deputy Leader, ].<ref name="InewsTW">{{cite news |last1=Sandhu |first1=Serina |title=Tom Watson says his Type 2 diabetes went into remission after following a strict diet |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/tom-watson-lose-weight-pioppi-diet-sugar-free-196373/ |accessdate=3 September 2021 |work=i news |date=12 September 2018 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130114459/https://inews.co.uk/news/health/tom-watson-lose-weight-pioppi-diet-sugar-free-196373 |url-status=live }}</ref>


The ]'s response to the Pioppi diet explained that there is no single definition of the ], which is generally considered to be a healthy way of eating.<ref name="BNFPioppi">. ]. Retrieved 28 November 2018.</ref> However they identified that the advice in the Pioppi diet to cut out starchy carbohydrates is not consistent with a Mediterranean diet which would include bread, pasta and rice. In addition, Mediterranean diets are normally low in saturated fat which is contrary to the advice in the book that people can eat as much saturated fat as they like. ] also says that in most traditional Mediterranean diets, bread would be a part of every meal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Should you try the Pioppi diet? |url=https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/wellbeing/2018/10/12/pioppi-diet-explained/ |accessdate=4 December 2018 |publisher=New Daily |date=12 October 2018}}</ref> The ]'s response to the Pioppi diet explained that there is no single definition of the ].<ref name="BNFPioppi"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730035520/https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritioninthenews/headlines/pioppidiet.html |date=30 July 2019 }}. ]. Retrieved 28 November 2018.</ref> However they identified that the advice in the Pioppi diet to cut out starchy carbohydrates is not consistent with an actual Mediterranean diet which would include bread, pasta and rice. In addition, Mediterranean diets are normally low in saturated fat which is contrary to the advice in the book that people can eat as much saturated fat as they like. ] also says that in most traditional Mediterranean diets, bread would be a part of every meal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Should you try the Pioppi diet? |url=https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/wellbeing/2018/10/12/pioppi-diet-explained/ |accessdate=4 December 2018 |publisher=New Daily |date=12 October 2018 |archive-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003206/https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/wellbeing/2018/10/12/pioppi-diet-explained/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


The Pioppi diet was listed as one of the "top 5 worst celeb diets to avoid in 2018" by the ].<ref name=bda>{{cite web |publisher=British Dietetic Association |title=Top 5 worst celeb diets to avoid in 2018 |date=7 December 2017 |url=https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/top-5-worst-celeb-diets-to-avoid-in-2018.html |quote=the authors may well be the only people in the history of the planet who have been to Italy and come back with a diet named after an Italian village that excludes pasta, rice and bread}}</ref> According to the BDA and others, it is a new spin on a ] high fat diet that "hijacked" the term ]: substituting cauliflower for rice or pizza base and cooking with coconut oil are not parts of the traditional diet of the villagers of Pioppi.<ref name="sbm" /><ref name=bda /><ref name="BNFPioppi" /> The Pioppi diet was listed as one of the "top 5 worst celeb diets to avoid in 2018" by the ].<ref name=bda>{{cite web |publisher=British Dietetic Association |title=Top 5 worst celeb diets to avoid in 2018 |date=7 December 2017 |url=https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/top-5-worst-celeb-diets-to-avoid-in-2018.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206204456/https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/top-5-worst-celeb-diets-to-avoid-in-2018.html |archive-date=6 February 2020 |quote=the authors may well be the only people in the history of the planet who have been to Italy and come back with a diet named after an Italian village that excludes pasta, rice and bread}}</ref> According to the BDA and others, it is a new spin on a ] high-fat diet that "hijacked" the term ] (e.g. substituting cauliflower for rice or pizza base and cooking with coconut oil are not parts of the traditional diet of the villagers of Pioppi).<ref name="sbm" /><ref name=bda /><ref name="BNFPioppi" />


===Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Statins=== ===Saturated fat, cholesterol and statins===


The UK ] website on healthy eating states that "Too much fat in your diet, especially saturated fats, can raise your cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease".<ref name="NHSfats">{{cite web | title=Fat: the facts |date= 27 April 2018 |url= https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/different-fats-nutrition/ |publisher=NHS |access-date=12 September 2021}}</ref> This advice is part of a medical and dietary mainstream consensus about ] shared with the ]<ref>{{cite book|author= Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation|year= 2003|series= WHO Technical Report Series|volume= 916|title= Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases|location= Geneva|isbn= 978-9241209168|issn= 0512-3054|url=https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/trs916/en/gsfao_overall.pdf|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131031114143/http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/trs916/en/gsfao_overall.pdf|archive-date= 31 October 2013}} page 56 table 6,</ref> and the health authorities of many other nations.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/make-it-a-habit-to-eat-vegetables-fruit-whole-grains-and-protein-foods/choosing-foods-with-healthy-fats/ | title = Choosing foods with healthy fats | publisher = ] | access-date = 12 September 2021| date = 10 October 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/resources/DGA_Cut-Down-On-Saturated-Fats.pdf | title = Cut Down on Saturated Fats | publisher = ] | access-date = 12 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/fat-salt-sugars-and-alcohol/fat | title = Fat | publisher = Australia's ] and ] | access-date = 12 September 2021| date = 24 September 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/458/Getting%20the%20Fats%20Right | title = Getting the Fats Right! | publisher = Singapore's ] | access-date = 12 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nhp.gov.in/healthlyliving/healthy-diet | title = Health Diet | publisher = India's ] | access-date = 12 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy-living/food-activity-and-sleep/healthy-eating/making-healthier-food-choices | title = Making healthier food choices | publisher = New Zealand's ] | access-date = 12 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/static/100023.html | title = Know More about Fat | publisher = Hong Kong's ] | access-date = 12 September 2021}}</ref> Current guidelines for doctors from the UK ] for reduction of the risk of cardiovascular disease include giving advice on lifestyle changes before prescribing statins.<ref name="NICEstatins">{{cite web |title=Cardiovascular disease: risk assessment and reduction, including lipid modification | publisher=National Institute for Health and Care Excellence | url=https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg181/chapter/1-Recommendations#lipid-modification-therapy-for-the-primary-and-secondary-prevention-of-cvd-2 | date=27 September 2016 | access-date=12 September 2021 }}</ref> The UK ] website explains to patients that the lifestyle changes that doctors will recommend before prescribing statins include eating a healthy diet, exercising, stopping smoking, limiting alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight.<ref name="NHSstatins">{{cite web |title=Statins |date=3 October 2018 |url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/statins/ | publisher=NHS |access-date=12 September 2021 }}</ref> Prof Mark Baker, Director of the Centre for Guidelines at ], stated that the use of statins in people with established heart disease was not controversial and expanding the prescription of statins to people with a 10% risk of disease was recent but based on robust evidence.<ref name="SMC2017"/>{{Overly detailed inline|date=November 2022}} The UK ] website states that: "Too much fat in your diet, especially saturated fats, can raise your cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease".<ref name="NHSfats">{{cite web |title= Fat: the facts |date= 27 April 2018 |url= https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/different-fats-nutrition/ |publisher= NHS |access-date= 12 September 2021 |archive-date= 18 May 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180518094550/https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/different-fats-nutrition/ |url-status= live }}</ref> This advice is part of the scientific consensus on ] shared with the ]<ref>{{cite book|author= Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation|year= 2003|series= WHO Technical Report Series|volume= 916|title= Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases|location= Geneva|isbn= 978-9241209168|issn= 0512-3054|url=https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/trs916/en/gsfao_overall.pdf|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131031114143/http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/trs916/en/gsfao_overall.pdf|archive-date= 31 October 2013}} page 56 table 6,</ref> and the health authorities of many other nations.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/make-it-a-habit-to-eat-vegetables-fruit-whole-grains-and-protein-foods/choosing-foods-with-healthy-fats/ | title = Choosing foods with healthy fats | publisher = ] | access-date = 12 September 2021 | date = 10 October 2018 | archive-date = 26 January 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190126034503/https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/make-it-a-habit-to-eat-vegetables-fruit-whole-grains-and-protein-foods/choosing-foods-with-healthy-fats/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/resources/DGA_Cut-Down-On-Saturated-Fats.pdf | title = Cut Down on Saturated Fats | publisher = ] | access-date = 12 September 2021 | archive-date = 26 April 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170426230834/https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/resources/DGA_Cut-Down-On-Saturated-Fats.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/fat-salt-sugars-and-alcohol/fat | title = Fat | publisher = Australia's ] and ] | access-date = 12 September 2021 | date = 24 September 2012 | archive-date = 23 February 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130223172707/https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/fat-salt-sugars-and-alcohol/fat | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/458/Getting%20the%20Fats%20Right | title = Getting the Fats Right! | publisher = Singapore's ] | access-date = 12 September 2021 | archive-date = 2 May 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160502123044/https://www.healthhub.sg/live-healthy/458/Getting%20the%20Fats%20Right | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nhp.gov.in/healthlyliving/healthy-diet | title = Health Diet | publisher = India's ] | access-date = 12 September 2021 | archive-date = 6 August 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160806032305/https://www.nhp.gov.in/healthlyliving/healthy-diet | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy-living/food-activity-and-sleep/healthy-eating/making-healthier-food-choices | title = Making healthier food choices | publisher = New Zealand's ] | access-date = 12 September 2021 | archive-date = 7 March 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230307033444/https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy-living/food-activity-and-sleep/healthy-eating/making-healthier-food-choices | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/static/100023.html | title = Know More about Fat | publisher = Hong Kong's ] | access-date = 12 September 2021 | archive-date = 15 June 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180615104309/https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/static/100023.html | url-status = live }}</ref>


Current guidelines for doctors from the ] for reducing the risk of ] include giving advice on lifestyle changes before prescribing statins.<ref name="NICEstatins">{{cite web | title=Cardiovascular disease: risk assessment and reduction, including lipid modification | publisher=National Institute for Health and Care Excellence | url=https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg181/chapter/1-Recommendations#lipid-modification-therapy-for-the-primary-and-secondary-prevention-of-cvd-2 | date=27 September 2016 | access-date=12 September 2021 | archive-date=13 September 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913205822/https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg181/chapter/1-Recommendations#lipid-modification-therapy-for-the-primary-and-secondary-prevention-of-cvd-2 | url-status=live }}</ref> Such advice includes: eating a healthy diet, exercising, stopping smoking, limiting alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight.<ref name="NHSstatins">{{cite web |title=Statins |date=3 October 2018 |url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/statins/ |publisher=NHS |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418185352/https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/statins/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Director of the Centre for Guidelines at ], stated that the use of statins in people with established heart disease was not controversial and was but based on robust evidence.<ref name="SMC2017" />
Malhotra believes that ] is part of a healthy diet: he is known to put a tablespoon of butter and coconut oil into his coffee.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last1=O'Connor |first1=Anahad |date=23 August 2016 |url=https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/an-unconventional-cardiologist-promotes-a-high-fat-diet/ |title=An Unconventional Cardiologist Promotes a High-Fat Diet |work= ] |access-date=28 November 2018}}</ref> He has attacked the ] to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.<ref name="BMJ2015"/>
Malhotra instead directs his attention to the effects of ] and in particular to its role in ].<ref name="BMJ2015">{{cite journal|last1=Malhotra|first1=Aseem|title=Saturated fat is not the major issue|journal=British Medical Journal|date=22 October 2013|volume=347|page=f6340|url=http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f6340|accessdate=13 May 2015|doi=10.1136/bmj.f6340|pmid=24149521|s2cid=35280596}}</ref>


In 2017 Malhotra wrote an opinion piece for the '']'' which made the claim that ] did "not clog the arteries" and that heart disease can be cured with a daily walk and "eating real food".<ref name="ButterNonsense"/> The ] criticised these "misleading and wrong" claims and several researchers took issue with the methodology of the report on which Malhotra based his claims.<ref name="ButterNonsense"/><ref>{{Cite news|last=Scutti|first=Susan|date=27 April 2017|title=Does saturated fat clog your arteries? Controversial paper says 'no'|work=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/25/health/saturated-fat-arteries-study/index.html|url-status=live|access-date=13 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="ArsTechnica">{{Cite web|title=Experts: Headline-grabbing editorial on saturated fats "bizarre," "misleading"|url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/04/experts-headline-grabbing-editorial-on-saturated-fats-bizarre-misleading/|last=Mole|first=Beth|date=26 April 2017|website=Ars Technica|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513200948/https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/04/experts-headline-grabbing-editorial-on-saturated-fats-bizarre-misleading/|archive-date=13 May 2020|access-date=13 May 2020}}</ref> Prof Louis Levy, the head of nutrition science at ] says "There is good evidence that a high intake of saturated fat increases your risk of heart disease".<ref name="ButterNonsense"/> Malhotra however, believes that a ] in larger quantities is key to a healthy diet: he is known to put a tablespoon of butter and coconut oil into his coffee.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last1=O'Connor |first1=Anahad |date=23 August 2016 |url=https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/an-unconventional-cardiologist-promotes-a-high-fat-diet/ |title=An Unconventional Cardiologist Promotes a High-Fat Diet |work= ] |access-date=28 November 2018}}</ref> He has attacked the ] to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.<ref name="BMJ2015">{{cite journal |last1=Malhotra |first1=Aseem |date=22 October 2013 |title=Saturated fat is not the major issue |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f6340 |journal=British Medical Journal |volume=347 |page=f6340 |doi=10.1136/bmj.f6340 |pmid=24149521 |s2cid=35280596 |accessdate=13 May 2015 |archive-date=10 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510095833/http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f6340 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2017 Malhotra wrote an opinion piece for the '']'' which made the claim that ] did "not clog the arteries" and that heart disease can be cured with a daily walk and "eating real food".<ref name="ButterNonsense"/> The ] criticised these "misleading and wrong" claims and several researchers took issue with the methodology of the report on which Malhotra based his claims.<ref name="ButterNonsense"/><ref>{{Cite news|last=Scutti|first=Susan|date=27 April 2017|title=Does saturated fat clog your arteries? Controversial paper says 'no'|work=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/25/health/saturated-fat-arteries-study/index.html|access-date=13 May 2020|archive-date=21 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621203450/https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/25/health/saturated-fat-arteries-study/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ArsTechnica">{{Cite web|title=Experts: Headline-grabbing editorial on saturated fats "bizarre," "misleading"|url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/04/experts-headline-grabbing-editorial-on-saturated-fats-bizarre-misleading/|last=Mole|first=Beth|date=26 April 2017|website=Ars Technica|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513200948/https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/04/experts-headline-grabbing-editorial-on-saturated-fats-bizarre-misleading/|archive-date=13 May 2020|access-date=13 May 2020}}</ref> Prof Louis Levy, the head of nutrition science at ] says "There is good evidence that a high intake of saturated fat increases your risk of heart disease".<ref name="ButterNonsense"/>


Malhotra denounces what he calls the government's "obsession" with levels of total ], which, he says, has led to the overmedication of millions of people with ]s, and has diverted attention from the "more egregious" risk factor of ] ].<ref name="BMJ2015"/> He has questioned the worth of ], saying they may not be of benefit to anybody.<ref name="ButterNonsense">{{cite news |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/30/butter-nonsense-the-rise-of-the-cholesterol-deniers |title=Butter nonsense: the rise of the cholesterol deniers |author=Boseley S |date=30 October 2018}}</ref> With ] and ], Malhotra authored a 2017 article in '']'' which disputes the ], the link between blood cholesterol levels and occurrence of heart disease.<ref>Demasi, M; Lustig R. H; Malhotra A. (2017). . '']'' doi:10.1211/CP.2017.20203046.</ref> The article was criticized by two medical experts, for being based on cherry-picked science and for creating the impression that most doctors don't believe that diet and exercise are as important as drugs, and that drugs and lifestyle changes are an either/or option.<ref name="SMC2017"/> Cardiologist Tim Chico commented that "high cholesterol has been proven beyond all doubt to contribute to coronary artery disease and heart attack ... to say the cholesterol hypothesis is dead is simply incorrect."<ref name="SMC2017">{{cite web |url=http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-new-report-on-statins-and-the-cholesterol-hypothesis |title= Expert reaction to new report on statins and the cholesterol hypothesis| access-date= 2 December 2018 |publisher= Science Media Centre }}</ref> ], an Oxford medical professor, has also sharply criticised pronouncements about statins, and accused Malhotra of endangering lives.<ref name="ButterNonsense"/> Rory Collins has been quoted as saying that scare stories about statins could be as dangerous to public health as ]'s bogus claims about ].<ref name="ButterNonsense"/> Malhotra denounces what he calls the government's "obsession" with levels of total ], which, he says, has led to the overmedication of millions of people with ]s, and has diverted attention from the "more egregious" risk factor of ] ].<ref name="BMJ2015"/> He has questioned the worth of ], and campaigned against their use.<ref name="ButterNonsense">{{cite news |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/30/butter-nonsense-the-rise-of-the-cholesterol-deniers |title=Butter nonsense: the rise of the cholesterol deniers |author=Boseley S |date=30 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=] |title=Flawed cholesterol study makes headlines |url=https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/cholesterol-and-statins |access-date=18 January 2023 |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118211152/https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/cholesterol-and-statins |url-status=live }}</ref> ], an Oxford medical professor, has also sharply criticised Malhotra, and accused him of endangering lives.<ref name="ButterNonsense"/> Collins has been quoted as saying that scare stories about statins could be as dangerous to public health as ]'s bogus claims about ].<ref name="ButterNonsense"/>


With ] and ], Malhotra authored a 2017 article in '']'' which disputes the ], the link between blood cholesterol levels and occurrence of heart disease.<ref>Demasi, M; Lustig R. H; Malhotra A. (2017). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203055446/https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/opinion/insight/the-cholesterol-and-calorie-hypotheses-are-both-dead-it-is-time-to-focus-on-the-real-culprit-insulin-resistance/20203046.article |date=3 December 2018 }}. '']'' doi:10.1211/CP.2017.20203046.</ref> The article was criticized, for being based on cherry-picked science and for creating the impression that most doctors don't believe that diet and exercise are as important as drugs, and that drugs and lifestyle changes are an either/or paradigm.<ref name="SMC2017"/> Cardiologist Tim Chico commented that "high cholesterol has been proven beyond all doubt to contribute to coronary artery disease and heart attack ... to say the cholesterol hypothesis is dead is simply incorrect".<ref name="SMC2017">{{cite web |url=http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-new-report-on-statins-and-the-cholesterol-hypothesis |title=Expert reaction to new report on statins and the cholesterol hypothesis |access-date=2 December 2018 |publisher=Science Media Centre |archive-date=2 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202155240/http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-new-report-on-statins-and-the-cholesterol-hypothesis/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Too Much Medicine===


===Too Much Medicine campaign ===
Malhotra has stated that over-diagnosis and over-treatment is "the greatest threat to our healthcare system".<ref>{{cite news|title='Over-treating' patients is wasteful, unnecessary and can cause them harm, campaign claims|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/overtreating-patients-is-wasteful-unnecessary-and-can-cause-them-harm-campaign-claims-10245283.html|accessdate=13 May 2015|publisher=Independent|date=13 May 2015}}</ref> He has also held that in the UK at least £2bn is wasted each year on unnecessary tests and treatment.<ref>{{cite news|title=Is the failure of health regulation damaging our well-being?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/01/nhs-drugs-companies-wasting-money-trials-nice|accessdate=13 May 2015|publisher=Guardian|date=1 February 2015}}</ref> He co-ordinated the Too Much Medicine campaign by the ] and the ].<ref name=PHC2021/> His claims are supported by Sir ] a past president of the Royal College of Physicians.<ref>{{cite news |title=Health experts are calling for a 'Chilcot-style inquiry' into excess prescription drug deaths |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/chilcot-style-inquiry-health-experts-overprescription-drugs/ |accessdate=4 December 2018 |publisher=I news |date=11 April 2018}}</ref> In 2015, as a member of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges' Choosing Wisely Steering Group, Aseem Malhotra launched and coordinated a ''"US initiative to get doctors to stop using interventions with no benefit"'' - the Too Much Medicine campaign - a partnership with the ] and the ]. The aims of the project were to reduce unnecessary treatment and overuse, and introduce an option to patients of "doing nothing".<ref>{{cite news|title=Choosing Wisely in the UK: the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges' initiative to reduce the harms of too much medicine|url=https://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h2308|date=May 2015|publisher=bmj.com|access-date=17 April 2024|archive-date=17 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417182901/https://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h2308|url-status=live}}</ref> At the campaign's launch, Malhotra stated that over-diagnosis and over-treatment is "the greatest threat to our healthcare system".<ref>{{cite news|title='Over-treating' patients is wasteful, unnecessary and can cause them harm, campaign claims|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/overtreating-patients-is-wasteful-unnecessary-and-can-cause-them-harm-campaign-claims-10245283.html|accessdate=13 May 2015|publisher=Independent|date=13 May 2015|archive-date=15 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150515225606/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/overtreating-patients-is-wasteful-unnecessary-and-can-cause-them-harm-campaign-claims-10245283.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He also held that in the UK at least £2bn is wasted each year on unnecessary tests and treatment.<ref>{{cite news|title=Is the failure of health regulation damaging our well-being?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/01/nhs-drugs-companies-wasting-money-trials-nice|accessdate=13 May 2015|publisher=Guardian|date=1 February 2015}}</ref> His claims were supported by Sir ] a past president of the Royal College of Physicians.<ref>{{cite news |title=Health experts are calling for a 'Chilcot-style inquiry' into excess prescription drug deaths |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/chilcot-style-inquiry-health-experts-overprescription-drugs/ |accessdate=4 December 2018 |publisher=inews.co.uk |date=11 April 2018 |archive-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003205/https://inews.co.uk/news/health/chilcot-style-inquiry-health-experts-overprescription-drugs/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


=== COVID-19 === === COVID-19 ===


==== COVID-19 and diet ====
In 2020 during the ] and before there were any approved vaccines for COVID-19, Malhotra published a book<ref name="EuropeanScientist">{{cite news|last1=Oury |first1=Jean-Paul |date=28 August 2020 |title=Dr. Aseem Malhotra : The best defense against Coronavirus is optimising metabolic health |publisher=European Scientist |url= https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/editors-corner/dr-aseem-malhotra-the-best-vaccine-against-coronavirus-is-optimising-metabolic-health/ |access-date=6 October 2021 }}</ref> claiming that following his dietary advice could grant "metabolic optimization" which would, in 21 days, decrease the risk of viral infection. ] criticized the book<ref name=sbm /> because the biggest single risk factor for COVID-19 infection is age, which people cannot change. Gorski said that while Malhotra had a germ of a good point and that it was undeniable that losing weight for someone who is obese would reduce their risk of complications, the claims about the book were massively exaggerated and there was no specific evidence for the impact of lifestyle recommendations on the risk of COVID-19 or that Malhotra's version of a healthy diet was better or worse than any other healthy lifestyle recommendation. Gorski was also concerned that telling people that they should be in control of their susceptibility to disease may have an element of ] because that shifts responsibility for disease onto individuals, many of whom are unable to follow the kind of diet Malhotra advocates.<ref name=sbm>{{cite web |publisher=] |author=David Gorski |title=Can 'optimizing your metabolism' through diet prevent or cure COVID-19? |date=31 August 2020 |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/can-optimizing-your-metabolism-through-diet-prevent-or-cure-covid-19/}}</ref> In 2020 during the ] and before there were any approved vaccines for COVID-19, Malhotra published a book<ref name="EuropeanScientist">{{cite news |last1=Oury |first1=Jean-Paul |date=28 August 2020 |title=Dr. Aseem Malhotra : The best defense against Coronavirus is optimising metabolic health |publisher=European Scientist |url=https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/editors-corner/dr-aseem-malhotra-the-best-vaccine-against-coronavirus-is-optimising-metabolic-health/ |access-date=6 October 2021 |archive-date=6 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006111215/https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/editors-corner/dr-aseem-malhotra-the-best-vaccine-against-coronavirus-is-optimising-metabolic-health/ |url-status=live }}</ref> claiming that following his dietary advice could grant "metabolic optimization" which would, in 21 days, decrease the risk of viral infection. ] criticized the book<ref name=sbm /> noting that the biggest single risk factor for COVID-19 infection is age, which people cannot change. Gorski said that while Malhotra had a germ of a good point and that it was undeniable that losing weight for someone who is obese would reduce their risk of complications, the claims about the book were massively exaggerated and there was no specific evidence for the impact of lifestyle recommendations on the risk of COVID-19 or that Malhotra's version of a healthy diet was better or worse than any other healthy lifestyle recommendation. Gorski was also concerned that telling people that they should be in control of their susceptibility to disease may have an element of ] because that shifts responsibility for disease onto individuals, many of whom are unable to follow the kind of diet Malhotra advocates.<ref name=sbm>{{cite web |publisher=] |author=David Gorski |title=Can 'optimizing your metabolism' through diet prevent or cure COVID-19? |date=31 August 2020 |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/can-optimizing-your-metabolism-through-diet-prevent-or-cure-covid-19/ |access-date=12 November 2020 |archive-date=2 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102202405/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/can-optimizing-your-metabolism-through-diet-prevent-or-cure-covid-19/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


==== COVID-19 vaccine controversy ====
In November 2021, Malhotra appeared on ] to discuss an abstract for an academic poster published by ] and which the ] had warned may contain "potential errors". Malhotra claimed that the abstract supported "a significantly increased risk from 11% at five years, the risk of heart attack, to 25%." after taking mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. ] warned that "Serious concerns have been raised as to the quality of the research".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Panjwani |first1=Abbas |title=Concerns raised about legitimacy of research linking vaccines and heart attacks |url=https://fullfact.org/health/covid-vaccines-heart-disease/ |website=Full Fact |language=en |date=30 November 2021}}</ref>
Malhotra initially campaigned in favour of taking the COVID vaccine.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2022-09-26 |title=Dr. Aseem Malhotra who promoted COVID-19 vaccine on TV calls for its immediate suspension to investigate serious side effects |url=https://aosis.co.za/news-dr-aseem-malhotra-who-promoted-covid-19-vaccine-on-tv-calls-for-its-immediate-suspension-to-investigate-serious-side-effects/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=AOSIS |language=en-ZA |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114174343/https://aosis.co.za/news-dr-aseem-malhotra-who-promoted-covid-19-vaccine-on-tv-calls-for-its-immediate-suspension-to-investigate-serious-side-effects/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3" /> Later however, he campaigned against the use of COVID ]<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Chumley|first=Cheryl|date=27 September 2022|title=Pro-COVID-19 vaccine doc calls for stop to shots|work=Washington Times|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/sep/27/pro-covid-19-shot-doc-calls-stop-shots/|access-date=6 October 2022|archive-date=6 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006175904/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/sep/27/pro-covid-19-shot-doc-calls-stop-shots/|url-status=live}}</ref> contrary to the available evidence.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=6 October 2022 |first=Iria |last=Carballo-Carbajal |title=Article by cardiologist Aseem Malhotra made unsupported claims about the benefits and risks of COVID-19 vaccination |url=https://science.feedback.org/review/article-by-cardiologist-aseem-malhotra-made-unsupported-claims-about-benefits-risks-covid-19-vaccination/ |access-date=16 September 2024 |website=Science Feedback |publisher=Health Feedback |language=en-US |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916075941/https://science.feedback.org/review/article-by-cardiologist-aseem-malhotra-made-unsupported-claims-about-benefits-risks-covid-19-vaccination/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In November 2021, Malhotra appeared on ] to discuss an abstract for an academic poster published by ] and which the ] had warned may contain "potential errors". Malhotra claimed that the abstract supported "a significantly increased risk from 11% at five years, the risk of heart attack, to 25%." after taking mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. ] warned that "Serious concerns have been raised as to the quality of the research".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Panjwani |first1=Abbas |title=Concerns raised about legitimacy of research linking vaccines and heart attacks |url=https://fullfact.org/health/covid-vaccines-heart-disease/ |website=Full Fact |language=en |date=30 November 2021 |access-date=1 December 2021 |archive-date=1 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201115033/https://fullfact.org/health/covid-vaccines-heart-disease/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


In September 2022, Malhotra publicly campaigned against the use of COVID mRNA vaccines.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chumley|first=Cheryl|date=27 September 2022|title=Pro-COVID-19 vaccine doc calls for stop to shots|work=Washington Times|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/sep/27/pro-covid-19-shot-doc-calls-stop-shots/|url-status=live|access-date=6 October 2022}}</ref> An AFP Factcheck warned of his claims that "This is false; experts say his research misleads on the risks of vaccination by cherry-picking evidence and relying on flawed studies, and public health authorities agree the benefits of the shots outweigh the risks."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goldhamer|first=Marisha|date=14 October 2022|title=UK cardiologist misleads on Covid-19 vaccine safety|work=AFP|url=https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32L483D|url-status=live|access-date=23 October 2022}}</ref> In September 2022, Malhotra publicly campaigned against the use of COVID mRNA vaccines.<ref name=":1"/> An AFP factcheck warned of his claims: "This is false; experts say his research misleads on the risks of vaccination by cherry-picking evidence and relying on flawed studies, and public health authorities agree the benefits of the shots outweigh the risks."<ref name=":3"/>

The Editor of '']'', ], reported on a presentation by Malhotra 7 November 2022 at a public meeting organised by the Association of Naturopathic Practitioners at ], London. <blockquote>'Malhotra's method of argument deserves scrutiny to understand why it persuades some people. Frame one's view as the reluctant endpoint of a personal journey. Quote respected scientists. Stand up to corporates. Place oneself firmly on the side of patients. Emphasise well described concerns about the presentation of research evidence. Allude to correlations. Make the call for access to raw data an issue of trust and transparency.</blockquote>After the meeting descended into chaos, Horton observed that 'this descent into unreason is what happens when you inflame public anxieties. It needs to stop.'<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Horton |first=Richard |date=2022-11-26 |title=Offline: The distance between us |url=https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02413-8/fulltext |journal=The Lancet |language=English |volume=400 |issue=10366 |pages=1834 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(22)02413-8 |issn=0140-6736 |pmid=36436520 |s2cid=253839744 |access-date=22 February 2023 |archive-date=22 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222023020/https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02413-8/fulltext |url-status=live }}</ref> Frank Han, a paediatric cardiologist, reviewed Malhotra's 20 claims in the presentation and concluded the majority were unsupported by scientific evidence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Han |first=Frank |date=3 December 2022 |title=The Aseem Malhotra Lecture isn't what you think it is. |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-aseem-malhotra-lecture-isnt-what-you-think-it-is/ |access-date=22 February 2023 |website=Science-based Medicine |archive-date=22 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222044621/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-aseem-malhotra-lecture-isnt-what-you-think-it-is/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 13 January 2023, during a BBC interview on the prescription of statins, Malhotra made unprompted claims about excess cardiac deaths and COVID vaccines. The BBC apologised that these claims were not challenged at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC News Channel, interview with Dr Aseem Malhotra, January 2023 {{!}} Contact the BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaint/bbcnewschanneljanuary2023 |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |archive-date=22 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222013813/https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaint/bbcnewschanneljanuary2023 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] and scientific experts including noted immunologist ] subsequently refuted the claims.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=Nicola |date=2023-01-13 |title=BBC criticised for letting cardiologist 'hijack' interview with false Covid jab claim |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/13/bbc-cardiologist-aseem-malhotra-links-covid-jabs-to-heart-disease-deaths |access-date=2023-02-22 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==

In addition to his work as a cardiologist, Malhotra has been described as a "highly regarded public health campaigner" and an anti-obesity expert<ref name="KF"/> who is "passionate about tackling the companies and policies responsible for creating ... an obesogenic environment".<ref name="Sustain">{{cite news |last1=Clarke |first1=Malcolm |title=Children's Food Campaign |publisher=Sustain |url=https://www.sustainweb.org/news/dec13_food_heroes/ |date=20 December 2013 |access-date=1 September 2021 |archive-date=1 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901191536/https://www.sustainweb.org/news/dec13_food_heroes/ |url-status=live }}{{unreliable source?|date=November 2022}}</ref> He explains that his professional work has motivated his public health campaigning: "...having seen the unspeakable suffering caused by diet-related diseases, I would much rather these patients did not develop them in the first place."<ref name=BBC2012 >{{cite web |first1=Aseem |last1=Malhotra |title=Viewpoint: Ban junk food sponsors from Olympic sports |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18708790 |date=9 July 2012 |access-date=21 December 2021 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221202506/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18708790 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2013 Malhotra was recognized in the inaugural list of the top 50 BME Pioneers in the NHS Health Service Journal, for his research into sugar-rich diets, obesity and cardio-vascular disease, as well as his public health campaigns, including profit-making of big corporations at the expense of public health, unhealthy hospital meals, and the sale of junk food in hospitals.<ref name="HSJ2013BME">{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Jennifer |date=27 November 2013 |title=HSJ BME Pioneers 2013 |publisher=Health Services Journal |url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/supplement-archive/hsj-bme-pioneers-2013/5065832.article |access-date=1 September 2021 |archive-date=1 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901150841/https://www.hsj.co.uk/supplement-archive/hsj-bme-pioneers-2013/5065832.article |url-status=live }}</ref> The judges commented that "Yes. He challenges people".<ref name="HSJ2013BME"/> At the end of 2013, Malhotra was named a "Food Hero" for the Children's Food Campaign for campaigning against junk food being marketed to children, and sugar-filled vending machines in hospitals.<ref name="Sustain" />

In 2014 Malhotra was recognized for a second year running in the Health Services Journal top 50 BME Pioneers: described by the judges as "An upcoming star", the entry recognized that he had ignited a debate about over-investigation, over-diagnosis and overmedication and brought media attention to the BMJ's "Too much medicine" campaign.<ref name="HSJ2014BME">{{cite news |last1=Gbadamosi |first1=Nosmot |last2=Paton |first2=Nic |date=6 November 2014 |title=HSJ BME Pioneers 2014 |publisher=Health Services Journal |url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/supplement-archive/hsj-bme-pioneers-2014/5076440.article |access-date=1 September 2021 |archive-date=2 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202014657/https://www.hsj.co.uk/supplement-archive/hsj-bme-pioneers-2014/5076440.article |url-status=live }}</ref> Also in 2014, his campaigning on sugar led to his being featured in the '']'' as being one of ten of London's brightest stars working in science and technology.<ref name="EvStd2014supersmart">{{cite news |last1=Urwin |first1=Rosamund |date=16 October 2014 |title=The super smart set: 10 of London's clever clogs and big brains |publisher=Evening Standard |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/the-super-smart-set-10-of-london-s-clever-clogs-and-big-brains-9797754.html |access-date=1 September 2021 |archive-date=1 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901152957/https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/the-super-smart-set-10-of-london-s-clever-clogs-and-big-brains-9797754.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018 the ]'s health correspondent, Sarah Boseley, labelled Malhotra as a "dissident scientist", "statin critic" and "cholesterol sceptic".<ref name="ButterNonsense" />

At an informal dinner organised on 27 July 2022 by the International Medical Graduates Group during the ]'s Annual Representative meeting, Malhotra was given an award. A photograph and tweets by the IMG and Malhotra implied this was an official BMA award. BMA President Chaand Nagpaul apologised to conference attendees and clarified that "this was not a formal BMA award and neither I nor the BMA endorse the views held by Aseem Malhotra."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flynn |first=Alex |date=September 2022 |title=Enquiry into concerns raised by members at Annual Representatives Meeting (ARM) 2022 |url=https://www.bma.org.uk/media/6198/lesson-learned-review-img-dinner-september-2022.pdf |access-date=22 February 2023 |website=British Medical Association }}</ref>

In September 2023, Malhotra received the Rusty Razor award, a prize given to "the year’s worst promoters of pseudoscience".<ref>Michael Marshall, "Cardiologist and Covid vaccine critic Dr Aseem Malhotra wins 2023 Rusty Razor award", The Skeptic, 23 September 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230924102216/https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2023/09/cardiologist-and-covid-vaccine-critic-dr-aseem-malhotra-wins-2023-rusty-razor-award/</ref>


==Selected bibliography== ==Selected bibliography==
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British cardiologist and writer

Aseem Malhotra
Born1977 (age 46–47)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Cardiologist, writer
Websitedraseemmalhotra.co.uk

Aseem Malhotra is a British cardiologist, health campaigner, and author, who became well known during the COVID-19 pandemic after being accused of spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations. He contends that people should reduce sugar in their diet, adopt a low-carb and high-fat diet, and reduce their use of prescription drugs. He was the first science director of Action on Sugar in 2014, was listed as one of The Sunday Times 500 most influential people in 2016, and was twice recognized as one of the top fifty black and minority ethnic community member pioneers in the UK's National Health Service by the Health Service Journal. Malhotra is co-author of a book called The Pioppi Diet.

His views on diet and health have been criticized by the British Heart Foundation as "misleading and wrong", and his public questioning of the need ever to use statins has been condemned as a danger to public health. His "Pioppi diet" was named by the British Dietetic Association as one of the "top 5 worst celeb diets to avoid in 2018".

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Malhotra published a book called The 21-Day Immunity Plan, which claimed, without the backing of evidence from medical research, that following the diet can quickly help people reduce their risk from the virus. Despite initially campaigning for the COVID vaccine, he later campaigned against the use of COVID mRNA vaccines contrary to the available evidence.

Biography

Early influences

Malhotra was born in New Delhi in India in October 1977. He was the younger son of two doctors: Kailash Chand and Anisha Malhotra. The family moved to Britain in 1978 when his father had a clinical attachment at Alder Hey Hospital and was studying for a Diploma in Tropical Medicine at Liverpool University. Both parents became General Practitioners in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester. In 1988 Malhotra's brother Amit, who was two years older than Malhotra and had been born with Down's syndrome, died of heart failure aged thirteen. This inspired Malhotra with the ambition to become a cardiologist. Malhotra was educated at Manchester Grammar School.

Malhotra's father went on to become the first Asian to be elected as honorary vice-president and deputy chair of the council of the British Medical Association and received an O.B.E for long-standing service to the NHS. Malhotra's mother's religious faith was important to her and Malhotra observed that she fasted weekly by only consuming one meal on a fast day. He was quoted later as claiming his mother's vegetarian diet contributed to her 'premature and painful death' and said he hoped "we can learn that much of these ills are preventable."

Career

Malhotra studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and graduated in 2001. He spent his foundation years as a doctor in Scotland, at Wishaw General Hospital then at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and finally at Liberton Hospital which specialises in care of the elderly. He completed his post-graduate medical diploma during two years working at the Manchester Royal Infirmary. He held specialist registrar positions at St James's University Hospital in Leeds and Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Malhotra has held cardiology posts with the UK National Health Service as a cardiology specialist registrar at Harefield Hospital, at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead and as an Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at Frimley Park Hospital. and Lister Hospital in Stevenage. When Action on Sugar was founded in 2014, he became its first Science Director. He is a former Consultant Clinical Associate to the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. In 2018 he was a visiting professor at Bahiana School of Medicine and Public Health, Salvador, Brazil. In 2015 he was appointed as a trustee of the King's Fund and was reappointed for a further three years in 2018. In 2021, Malhotra was appointed chair of the scientific advisory committee of the small UK charity The Public Health Collaboration. On 20 Feb 2023, the Public Health Collaboration announced that Malhotra was no longer part of the organisation.

In January 2023, a group of doctors, including some General Practitioners, called on the General Medical Council to investigate Aseem Malhotra's fitness to practice due to what they claim is his ‘high-profile promotion of misinformation about Covid-19 mRNA vaccines’. On 2 June 2023, the doctors took the first formal step in legal proceedings against the GMC by sending them the formal pre-action protocol letter. This stated 'we are bringing this legal action because we believe that the GMC, as the official regulator of doctors’ professional standards, has a duty to act in this case.' On 15 February 2024 the GMC stated that it had identified an error in its decision making.

On 4 August 2023 Malhotra announced he had been appointed co-chair of the London division of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO). Later the same day the announcement was removed from BAPIO's website.

Public health campaigns and misinformation

Reducing the consumption of sugar and junk foods

Malhotra campaigns about reducing the consumption of sugar and junk foods, particularly for children. Malhotra argues that it is unrealistic to expect individuals to avoid cheap, unhealthy, heavily marketed foods and that changes to regulation are needed. He draws analogies to the regulations on tobacco needed to reduce smoking. He believes that hospital vending machines which sell sweets or junk food sends the wrong message. At the time of the London Olympics in 2012, he criticized the choice of sponsors: writing that "In the context of an obesity epidemic I find it obscene that the Olympics chooses to associate itself with fast food, sugary drinks, chocolate and alcohol."

His campaigns on these topics have brought him recognition and accolades including as a children's food hero in 2013, one of the top 50 BME pioneers in the NHS in 2013, one of London's brightest stars working in Science and Technology in 2014, and one of the Times Top 500 most influential people in the UK in 2016.

Pioppi diet and low carb diet advocacy

The UK consensus guidance on a healthy diet recommends a balanced diet consisting of carbohydrates, protein and fat, with foods high in fat, salt or sugar, being eaten rarely and only in small amounts.

The Pioppi Diet

Malhotra is a proponent of fad diets such as low-carbohydrate diets and in 2017 he co-authored a low carb diet book called The Pioppi Diet, which provides a 21-day eating plan. Malhotra's personal royalties from the book are donated to charity. The book recommends the daily consumption of two to four table spoons of extra-virgin olive oil, a small handful of tree nuts, five to seven portions of fibrous vegetables and low sugar fruits and oily fish at least three times a week. It advises people to avoid all added sugars, fruit juice, honey, and syrups, refined carbohydrates, anything flour based (including all bread, pastries, cakes, biscuits, muesli bars, packaged noodles, pasta, couscous and rice and seed oils). Very dark chocolate, butter, coconut oil, cheese, yoghurt are allowed. The moderate consumption of alcohol is allowed but only within the limits set by the NHS and a maximum of 500g of red meat per week is recommended in line with the recommendations of the World Cancer Research Fund. It promotes a higher fat intake with fewer carbs than the NHS reference intakes. The diet is called Pioppi after the Italian village recognized as the home of the Mediterranean diet. The authors use the lifestyles of residents of the town to explain the principles of a healthier lifestyle and the book also explains how policy changes are needed to change the obesogenic environment.

The Pioppi diet book has endorsements from then Member of Parliament (MP) Andy Burnham and Dame Sue Bailey, Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. Keith Vaz, who was the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on diabetes, promoted it to fellow MPs and then MP and Labour Deputy Leader, Tom Watson.

The British Nutrition Foundation's response to the Pioppi diet explained that there is no single definition of the Mediterranean diet. However they identified that the advice in the Pioppi diet to cut out starchy carbohydrates is not consistent with an actual Mediterranean diet which would include bread, pasta and rice. In addition, Mediterranean diets are normally low in saturated fat which is contrary to the advice in the book that people can eat as much saturated fat as they like. Rosemary Stanton also says that in most traditional Mediterranean diets, bread would be a part of every meal.

The Pioppi diet was listed as one of the "top 5 worst celeb diets to avoid in 2018" by the British Dietetic Association. According to the BDA and others, it is a new spin on a low-carb high-fat diet that "hijacked" the term Mediterranean diet (e.g. substituting cauliflower for rice or pizza base and cooking with coconut oil are not parts of the traditional diet of the villagers of Pioppi).

Saturated fat, cholesterol and statins

The UK National Health Service website states that: "Too much fat in your diet, especially saturated fats, can raise your cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease". This advice is part of the scientific consensus on saturated fat shared with the World Health Organization and the health authorities of many other nations.

Current guidelines for doctors from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease include giving advice on lifestyle changes before prescribing statins. Such advice includes: eating a healthy diet, exercising, stopping smoking, limiting alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight. The Director of the Centre for Guidelines at NICE, stated that the use of statins in people with established heart disease was not controversial and was but based on robust evidence.

Malhotra however, believes that a saturated fat in larger quantities is key to a healthy diet: he is known to put a tablespoon of butter and coconut oil into his coffee. He has attacked the standard advice on saturated fat consumption to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. In 2017 Malhotra wrote an opinion piece for the British Journal of Sports Medicine which made the claim that saturated fat did "not clog the arteries" and that heart disease can be cured with a daily walk and "eating real food". The British Heart Foundation criticised these "misleading and wrong" claims and several researchers took issue with the methodology of the report on which Malhotra based his claims. Prof Louis Levy, the head of nutrition science at Public Health England says "There is good evidence that a high intake of saturated fat increases your risk of heart disease".

Malhotra denounces what he calls the government's "obsession" with levels of total cholesterol, which, he says, has led to the overmedication of millions of people with statins, and has diverted attention from the "more egregious" risk factor of atherogenic dyslipidaemia. He has questioned the worth of statins, and campaigned against their use. Rory Collins, an Oxford medical professor, has also sharply criticised Malhotra, and accused him of endangering lives. Collins has been quoted as saying that scare stories about statins could be as dangerous to public health as Andrew Wakefield's bogus claims about vaccination and autism.

With Robert H. Lustig and Maryanne Demasi, Malhotra authored a 2017 article in The Pharmaceutical Journal which disputes the Lipid hypothesis, the link between blood cholesterol levels and occurrence of heart disease. The article was criticized, for being based on cherry-picked science and for creating the impression that most doctors don't believe that diet and exercise are as important as drugs, and that drugs and lifestyle changes are an either/or paradigm. Cardiologist Tim Chico commented that "high cholesterol has been proven beyond all doubt to contribute to coronary artery disease and heart attack ... to say the cholesterol hypothesis is dead is simply incorrect".

Too Much Medicine campaign

In 2015, as a member of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges' Choosing Wisely Steering Group, Aseem Malhotra launched and coordinated a "US initiative to get doctors to stop using interventions with no benefit" - the Too Much Medicine campaign - a partnership with the BMJ and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. The aims of the project were to reduce unnecessary treatment and overuse, and introduce an option to patients of "doing nothing". At the campaign's launch, Malhotra stated that over-diagnosis and over-treatment is "the greatest threat to our healthcare system". He also held that in the UK at least £2bn is wasted each year on unnecessary tests and treatment. His claims were supported by Sir Richard Thompson a past president of the Royal College of Physicians.

COVID-19

COVID-19 and diet

In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and before there were any approved vaccines for COVID-19, Malhotra published a book claiming that following his dietary advice could grant "metabolic optimization" which would, in 21 days, decrease the risk of viral infection. David Gorski criticized the book noting that the biggest single risk factor for COVID-19 infection is age, which people cannot change. Gorski said that while Malhotra had a germ of a good point and that it was undeniable that losing weight for someone who is obese would reduce their risk of complications, the claims about the book were massively exaggerated and there was no specific evidence for the impact of lifestyle recommendations on the risk of COVID-19 or that Malhotra's version of a healthy diet was better or worse than any other healthy lifestyle recommendation. Gorski was also concerned that telling people that they should be in control of their susceptibility to disease may have an element of victim blaming because that shifts responsibility for disease onto individuals, many of whom are unable to follow the kind of diet Malhotra advocates.

COVID-19 vaccine controversy

Malhotra initially campaigned in favour of taking the COVID vaccine. Later however, he campaigned against the use of COVID mRNA vaccines contrary to the available evidence. In November 2021, Malhotra appeared on GB News to discuss an abstract for an academic poster published by Steven Gundry and which the American Heart Association had warned may contain "potential errors". Malhotra claimed that the abstract supported "a significantly increased risk from 11% at five years, the risk of heart attack, to 25%." after taking mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. Full Fact warned that "Serious concerns have been raised as to the quality of the research".

In September 2022, Malhotra publicly campaigned against the use of COVID mRNA vaccines. An AFP factcheck warned of his claims: "This is false; experts say his research misleads on the risks of vaccination by cherry-picking evidence and relying on flawed studies, and public health authorities agree the benefits of the shots outweigh the risks."

The Editor of The Lancet, Richard Horton, reported on a presentation by Malhotra 7 November 2022 at a public meeting organised by the Association of Naturopathic Practitioners at Friends House, London.

'Malhotra's method of argument deserves scrutiny to understand why it persuades some people. Frame one's view as the reluctant endpoint of a personal journey. Quote respected scientists. Stand up to corporates. Place oneself firmly on the side of patients. Emphasise well described concerns about the presentation of research evidence. Allude to correlations. Make the call for access to raw data an issue of trust and transparency.

After the meeting descended into chaos, Horton observed that 'this descent into unreason is what happens when you inflame public anxieties. It needs to stop.' Frank Han, a paediatric cardiologist, reviewed Malhotra's 20 claims in the presentation and concluded the majority were unsupported by scientific evidence.

On 13 January 2023, during a BBC interview on the prescription of statins, Malhotra made unprompted claims about excess cardiac deaths and COVID vaccines. The BBC apologised that these claims were not challenged at the time. The British Heart Foundation and scientific experts including noted immunologist Peter Openshaw subsequently refuted the claims.

Awards and honors

In addition to his work as a cardiologist, Malhotra has been described as a "highly regarded public health campaigner" and an anti-obesity expert who is "passionate about tackling the companies and policies responsible for creating ... an obesogenic environment". He explains that his professional work has motivated his public health campaigning: "...having seen the unspeakable suffering caused by diet-related diseases, I would much rather these patients did not develop them in the first place."

In 2013 Malhotra was recognized in the inaugural list of the top 50 BME Pioneers in the NHS Health Service Journal, for his research into sugar-rich diets, obesity and cardio-vascular disease, as well as his public health campaigns, including profit-making of big corporations at the expense of public health, unhealthy hospital meals, and the sale of junk food in hospitals. The judges commented that "Yes. He challenges people". At the end of 2013, Malhotra was named a "Food Hero" for the Children's Food Campaign for campaigning against junk food being marketed to children, and sugar-filled vending machines in hospitals.

In 2014 Malhotra was recognized for a second year running in the Health Services Journal top 50 BME Pioneers: described by the judges as "An upcoming star", the entry recognized that he had ignited a debate about over-investigation, over-diagnosis and overmedication and brought media attention to the BMJ's "Too much medicine" campaign. Also in 2014, his campaigning on sugar led to his being featured in the Evening Standard as being one of ten of London's brightest stars working in science and technology. In 2018 the Guardian's health correspondent, Sarah Boseley, labelled Malhotra as a "dissident scientist", "statin critic" and "cholesterol sceptic".

At an informal dinner organised on 27 July 2022 by the International Medical Graduates Group during the British Medical Association's Annual Representative meeting, Malhotra was given an award. A photograph and tweets by the IMG and Malhotra implied this was an official BMA award. BMA President Chaand Nagpaul apologised to conference attendees and clarified that "this was not a formal BMA award and neither I nor the BMA endorse the views held by Aseem Malhotra."

In September 2023, Malhotra received the Rusty Razor award, a prize given to "the year’s worst promoters of pseudoscience".

Selected bibliography

Books

  • The Pioppi Diet: A 21-Day Lifestyle Plan (with Donal O'Neill), Penguin Books, 2017 ISBN 9781405932639
  • The 21-Day Immunity Plan, Yellow Kite, 2020 ISBN 9781529349672
  • A Statin-Free Life: A revolutionary life plan for tackling heart disease - without the use of statins, Hodder & Stoughton, 2021 ISBN 9781529354102

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