Malcolm Kendrick

Malcolm Kendrick is a Scottish General Practitioner (GP), conspiracy theorist author, cholesterol denialist and low-carb diet advocate who has spent decades promoting the Atkins diet and more recently the carnivore diet.Dr Malcolm Kendrick. Dr. Shawn Baker Podcast.What really causes heart disease with Malcolm Kendrick. CarnivoreMD. He is best known for his controversial claim that (LDL) and total blood cholesterol levels do not increase the risk of heart disease. This is despite the fact that consistent evidence from numerous types of clinical and genetic studies has unequivocally established that LDL causes atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.Low-density lipoproteins cause atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. 1. Evidence from genetic, epidemiologic, and clinical studies. A consensus statement from the European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Panel. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
Kendrick dislikes the medical community and argues against the use of statins.Statins aren't a wonder drug by Malcolm KendrickShould women be offered cholesterol lowering drugs to prevent cardiovascular disease? No. "Not only do statins fail to provide any overall health benefit in women, they represent a massive financial drain on health services".The deadly propaganda of the statin deniers: The drugs DO protect you from heart attacks but as this devastating investigation reveals thousands are refusing them Kendrick is associated with the pseudoscientific Institute for Natural Healing and writes articles for the RT network. He is a leading figure in the cholesterol denialist movement. In 2022, Kendrick appeared on carnivore diet podcasts hosted by Shawn Baker and Paul Saladino.
As of 2024, Kendrick is a writer for an organization that calls itself The Broken Science Initiative.Malcolm Kendrick. brokenscience.org. He promotes a conspiracy that he has been targeted because of his anti-statin views.Kendrick/Harcombe Trial: The Conspiracy. brokenscience.org. Archived.
==Biography==
Kendrick is a GP based in Macclesfield, Cheshire.The Great Cholesterol Con by Malcolm Kendrick He is a member of THINCS (The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics), a fringe think tank that disputes the role of cholesterol in cardiovascular disease.Statin Denialism He is the author of The Great Cholesterol Con.
Kendrick has a few peer-reviewed papers published.Research Gate list of publications for Malcolm Kendrick In 2016, Kendrick and other colleagues published a systematic review to examine how low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is associated with mortality in older adults. They concluded that "High LDL-C is inversely associated with mortality in most people over 60 years" and since "elderly people with high LDL-C live as long or longer than those with low LDL-C, our analysis provides reason to question the validity of the cholesterol hypothesis."Kendrick, M. et al. "Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review". The review was criticized for cherry picking data and confirmation bias. Nine of the authors are members of THINCS. The National Health Service website observes that "the review searched only a single literature database, excluded studies only available in non-English languages, and excluded studies where the title and abstract did not appear to contain information on the link between LDL and mortality in older adults.""Study says there's no link between cholesterol and heart disease" Medical experts rejected the review's suggestions. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, commented that "there is nothing in the current paper to support the authors' suggestions that the studies they reviewed cast doubt on the idea that LDL cholesterol is a major cause of heart disease or that guidelines on LDL reduction in the elderly need re-evaluating.""Flawed cholesterol study makes headlines""Expert reaction to systematic review reporting lack of an association between LDL cholesterol and mortality in the elderly".
Kendrick sits on the Medical Advisory Board for the Institute for Natural Healing (INH), a pseudoscientific cancer woo organization.Meet the INH Medical Advisory Board The website advertises unproven cancer cures and promotes dubious vitamin and mineral supplements.The Institute for Natural HealingBetter Than Chemo, or a Modern Snake Oil Sale? According to the INH "Natural treatments—even cures—for cancer are all around us. They’re readily available to those who know about them. But they’re actively hidden by Big Pharma, the FDA, and mainstream medicine."What Natural Cancer Cures Are “They” Keeping From You? 
In June 2022, Kendrick was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had radiotherapy.A bit of a pause. Malcolm Kendrick. Archived.
==Claims==
According to Kendrick:The Great Cholesterol Con
*A high-fat diet has no impact on blood cholesterol levels.
*High cholesterol levels do not cause or increase the risk of heart disease.
*Statins do not protect against heart disease by lowing cholesterol levels.
*The protection provided by statins is so small it is not worth bothering with.
*Statins have many negative side effects including death and creation of deformed babies.
*All medical experts should be ignored as they are paid large sums of money from statin manufacturers.
*The only expert that should be listened to is Malcolm Kendrick.
In The Great Cholesterol Con (2008), he argues the above claims but fails to back this up with reliable scientific evidence. It has an irresponsible chapter titled "Eat whatever you like (Diet has nothing to do with heart disease)". Kendrick is not a dietician and lacks education in nutrition. The book makes the following arrogant statement in regard to the above claims:
So the entire medical community is wrong and Kendrick is right.
Kendrick continues his crusade against medical scientists in his book A Statin Nation: Damaging Millions in a Brave New Post-Health World (2018). Contrary to what Kendrick has written, clinical and genetic studies have revealed that high blood cholesterol levels increase the risk of heart disease.Low-density lipoproteins cause atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. 1. Evidence from genetic, epidemiologic, and clinical studies. A consensus statement from the European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus PanelHigh Cholesterol Harriet Hall has written that Kendrick and others from THINCS "cherry-pick the scientific literature to find studies that support their theses, ignore the flaws in those studies, and ignore the vast body of literature that contradicts them."
===Atkins diet===
 
Kendrick has endorsed a low-carb, high-fat diet (LCHF). He has spent years promoting the Atkins diet.
He has written numerous articles supporting Atkins; one of these was titled "ATKINS AND THE FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS" for THINCS which concluded "the reality about the Atkins diet is that, firstly, it works for many people. Secondly, it does not cause any health problems, as far as I'm concerned". Another article he wrote was "WHY THE ATKINS DIET IS HEALTHY". 
In 2024, Kendrick in response to his RationalWiki article claimed he has never promoted the Atkins diet:
===Carnivore diet===
Kendrick has supported the carnivore diet for over a decade. In 2013 he commented:
He has appeared on carnivore diet podcasts with Shawn Baker and Paul Saladino.
===Saturated fat===
Kendrick states that consumption of saturated fat has no link with cardiovascular disease or any other chronic disease. In September 2022, Kendrick stated:
===COVID-19===
Kendrick dislikes the UK lockdown for the 2019-20 COVID-19 outbreak and has argued it will cause significantly more deaths.The UK govt needs to start telling us the truth on Covid-19; lockdown is NOT a way of beating the virus
==Conspiracy theories==
Kendrick's personal blog and books are filled with Big Pharma and government conspiracy theories. He also thinks a group of vegan activists deleted his Wikipedia article and are targeting other high-fat advocates. Wikipedia a parable for our timesThe discussion on deleting the Wikipedia Malcolm Kendrick article
He claims anyone that promotes a high fat low carbohydrate diet is somehow "silenced" around the world.Those who promote a high fat low carbohydrate diet are silenced around the world
Kendrick has found a home as a contributor to the English language website of the Russian RT television network.As a GP, I fear our Covid-19 lockdown will result in significantly more deaths than we are trying to prevent. Archived.Remember how public health COLLAPSED after Soviet Union fell? I fear West will see same due to post-lockdown economic CATASTROPHE
===Lawsuit===
In February 2020, Kendrick and Zoë Harcombe filed a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited (the owner of Daily Mail) and Barney Calman the Mail on Sunday Health Editor for defamation.https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2022/543.html Calman and Associated Newspapers Limited had authored several poorly sourced and sensationalist articles criticizing the statin denialism of Harcombe and Kendrick. QB-2020-000799. judiciary.uk. One of these published by the Daily Mail was titled "The deadly propaganda of statin deniers: The drugs DO protect you from heart attacks but as this devastating investigation reveals thousands are refusing them".The deadly propaganda of the statin deniers: The drugs DO protect you from heart attacks but as this devastating investigation reveals thousands are refusing them Calman had authored an editorial "There is a special place in hell for the doctors who claim statins don’t work". A special report published in The Mail on Sunday titled "Deadly propaganda of the statin deniers" profiled Kendrick with a photograph of him.
In April 2022, Harcombe and Kendrick's trials were split.High Court considers impact of Curistan v Times Newspapers on deciding preliminary issues of meaning and fact/opinion in defamation case where qualified privilege defence pleadedSplit Trial Granted In Complex Libel Claim Against Associated Newspapers The defendants argued for honest opinion, truth and publication on a matter of public interest pursuant to the Defamation Act 2013. According to a summary of the preliminary trial judgment in June 2024:
The articles written by Calman and Associated Newspapers Limited were poorly written and contained no scientific references. It was a lawsuit waiting to happen. As of 12 October 2024 the lawsuit resulted in an apology being issued to Kendrick and Harcombe with agreement to pay costs and damages. The Daily Mail have since removed the article from their website.Dr Zoe Harcombe PhD and Dr Malcolm Kendrick – Apology
===Conspiracy theory about Daily Mail article===
Kendrick has argued that there is a conspiracy theory to crush anyone critical of statins and that Barney Calman's article was part of the conspiracy to silence him:
===Naming names part of the conspiracy===
In October 2024, Kendrick on his website authored an article "The legal case – naming a few names".The legal case – naming a few names. drmalcolmkendrick.org. In the article he published emails written by Barney Calman and Sir Rory Collins taken from what he says are Court Disclosures. Kendrick alleges that these emails belong to a secret group of academics who are "working hard in the background" to destroy his reputation.
==Selected publications==
*The Great Cholesterol Con: The Truth About What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It (2008)
*Doctoring Data: How to Sort Out Medical Advice from Medical Nonsense (2015)
*A Statin Nation - Damaging Millions in a Brave New Post-Health World (2018)
*The Clot Thickens: The enduring mystery of heart disease (2021)
==See also==
==External links==
*Dr. Malcolm Kendrick
*The Great Cholesterol Con-Artist: Malcolm Kendrick
==References==
Category:Authors
Category:Carnivore diet promoters
Category:Cholesterol and statin denialists
Category:Conspiracy theories
Category:Food woo promoters
Category:Living people
Category:Low-carb fanatics
Category:Pissed at us
Category:Physicians