Dr. Aseem Malhotra: British consultant cardiologist, anti-pharmaceutical-corruption campaigner, and prominent COVID vaccine critic who broke into the mainstream challenging saturated-fat and statin guidance.
What this episode covers
Dr. Aseem Malhotra recounts his journey from interventional cardiologist to controversial public health advocate, beginning with his 2013 BMJ editorial arguing saturated fat doesn't cause heart disease and that statins are massively overprescribed. He describes intense industry and institutional backlash, including losing his fellowship and being threatened with retraction. He then details how, after taking the COVID vaccine himself and suffering clinical depression, and after his fit 73-year-old father died of cardiac arrest months later, he reanalyzed the data and concluded mRNA vaccines carry an unacceptably high serious-adverse-event rate. Throughout, he frames medicine as captured by 'psychopathic' commercial interests and argues that lifestyle, diet, and public health interventions matter far more than pills. Joe Rogan shares his own experience being mocked for using ivermectin after recovering quickly from COVID.
The guest's own work
The Big Fat Fix
Aseem Malhotra
“I was lucky enough to co-produce a documentary film call the big fat fix and it covers a lot of stuff we discussed about how we got it wrong about saturated fat”— Aseem Malhotra
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
The Real Anthony Fauci
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“it wasn't until I read Robert Kennedy's Book the real Anthony fouchy that I got a sense that this is a Playbook that they have used forever”— Joe Rogan
Cereal Killers
Donal O'Neill
“he made the movie called ccos so we made this movie and what we did was we went back to the origins of where the Mediterranean diet came from”— Aseem Malhotra
She Said
“I don't know if you've watched the movie she said which is around what happened with Harvey Weinstein”— Aseem Malhotra
Bend It Like Beckham
Gurinder Chadha
“a film director friend of mine ginda Chad you might be familiar with some of her work bendit light Beckham it's a movie she did”— Aseem Malhotra
Blinded by the Light
Gurinder Chadha
“it's a movie she did Blinded By the Light which is about brce Springsteen it did quite well over here”— Aseem Malhotra
Statin Smart
Boston Heart Diagnostics
“in the United States there is a genetic test called Statin smart which is the company Boston Heart Diagnostics is a company that is marketing this”— Aseem Malhotra
Big reveals from this episode
- His 2013 BMJ editorial led to headlines 'butter is back, cardiologist says eating butter does not cause heart disease.'
- He was sent a letter discontinuing his interventional cardiology fellowship months after attacking statins, with no official reason given.
- Lead statin researcher Rory Collins co-invented the Statin Smart test detecting statin side effects while publicly claiming such effects are rare.
- His fit 73-year-old father died of cardiac arrest roughly six months after two vaccine doses, with the ambulance taking 30 minutes.
- A senior NHS official told him the government deliberately withheld that ambulances were missing heart-attack response targets nationwide.
- He helped overturn the UK NHS healthcare-worker vaccine mandate days before it was due to take effect.
- He cites a journal Vaccine reanalysis showing a serious adverse event rate of at least 1 in 800, exceeding the risk of COVID hospitalization.
Worth remembering
- Researchers Ancel Keys (saturated fat) and John Yudkin (sugar) battled over heart-disease causes, with the sugar industry backing Keys.
- Malhotra states roughly 80% of a person's cholesterol level is genetic.
- Per a BMJ analysis, statins add about 4 days to life expectancy over 5 years for heart-attack survivors.
- In a Cambridge debate, a pharma CEO's motion was literally 'we need more people taking more drugs.'
- Forensic psychologist Robert Hare's psychopathy criteria can be applied to how corporations conduct business.
- Helena, Montana saw a 40% drop in heart-attack admissions within six months of a public smoking ban.
- Modern medicine accounts for only about 3.5 to 5 of the roughly 40-year life-expectancy gain since 1850.
- Pioppi, a poor southern Italian village and Mediterranean-diet origin, has an average life expectancy over 90.