Dwight Lundell

[[File:Dwight Lundell.png|165px|thumb|Dwight Lundell, showing the amazing health benefits of his recommended diet]]
{{foodnav}}
{{conspiracynav}}

'''Dwight Lundell''' is an [[United States|American]] [[cholesterol denialist]], [[conspiracy theorist]], [[global warming denialist]], [[Low-carb diet|low-carb high-fat]] diet promoter, and former cardiothoracic surgeon who peddles the "we’ve all been lied to" narrative to sell books.<ref name="Quackwatch">[https://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/lundell.html A Skeptical Look at Dwight Lundell, M.D.]</ref><ref>[http://www.sheilakealey.com/2017/06/05/nutrition-health-experts-shouldnt-trust-updates/ Nutrition & Health Experts You Shouldn’t Trust – Updates]</ref> Lundell believes that the cure for heart disease is eating a diet rich in saturated fat.{{lie}} He currently promotes the [[ketogenic diet]].<ref name="Ketogenic diet">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJcQwO9kKWA</ref>

In 2008, Lundell's medical license was revoked due to several counts of professional misconduct and negligence.<ref name="casewatch">[https://web.archive.org/web/20200927141109/https://quackwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/quackwatch/casewatch/board/med/lundell/order_2008.pdf Before the Arizona Medical Board in the Matter of Dwight C. Lundell]</ref> Lundell has since commented "I lost my Medical License for Speaking the Truth, I consider it a Badge of Honor".

==''The Great Cholesterol Lie''==
Lundell has authored the [[conspiracy theory]] book, ''The Great Cholesterol Lie''. He makes the irrational claim that high blood cholesterol levels do not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and doctors have been lying to everyone since 1948.<ref>[http://archive.ph/E8vtC The Great Cholesterol Lie]. Dwight Lundell.</ref> He opposes the data from [[evidence-based medicine]] and tries to convince people to avoid taking cholesterol-lowering medications or eating a low-fat diet. Instead, he proposes a low-carb high-fat diet, fish oil supplements, and conjugated linoleic acid supplements.<ref name="Quackwatch"/><ref>[https://www.beefmagazine.com/outlook/cardiac-surgeon-says-beef-can-help-prevent-heart-disease Cardiac surgeon says beef can help prevent heart disease]. The Beef Magazine promoting Lundell's high-fat diet.</ref>
 
Lundell opposes the use of statin drugs, which he claims are dangerous and are the "biggest fraud in history".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XjbTazQTVM Dr. Dwight Lundell — Statin Drugs Are Dangerous For Your Health!]</ref><ref>[https://archive.ph/7laA3 "Statins, the biggest fraud in history"], X (Archived)</ref>

In a 2020 video on [[YouTube]], Lundell promoted an irrational conspiracy theory that high LDL-C levels do not increase heart disease risk and claimed the entire medical community including the American Medical Association are wrong.<ref name="Ketogenic diet"/> Lundell's evidence consists of reading a 75 year old man's lipid panel results whilst ignoring 30 years of medical research contradicting his claims.

Lundell says that he was considered a threat to the medical community because he found out that removing carbohydrates from the diet can cure or prevent heart disease so they removed his medical license.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzshg8tiAXI</ref> This is not accurate because his license was revoked due to professional misconduct and negligence.<ref name="casewatch"/> As of 2023, there is not any evidence that removing carbohydrates from the diet can cure heart disease.

==Twitter nuttiness==

Lundell attacks conventional medical advice and promotes conspiracy theories about statins on [[Twitter]]. His tweets are usually no more than a sentence:

{{cquote|Statins are a public health hazard<ref>[https://archive.ph/uArUF "Statins are a public health hazard!"], X (Archived)</ref>}}

{{cquote|Relative risk just another way to lie<ref>[https://archive.ph/ek4By "Relative risk just another way to lie"], X (Archived, tweet quoted in tweet no longer available)</ref>}}

{{cquote|Statins, biggest fraud ever<ref>[https://archive.ph/Kem44 "Statins, biggest fraud ever."], X (Archived)</ref>}}

{{cquote|No one should take statins<ref>[https://archive.ph/e40xT "no one should take statins"], X (Archived, tweet quoted in tweet no longer available)</ref>}}

{{cquote|Low fat cannot be defended except by the [[Willful ignorance|willfully ignorant]]<ref>[https://archive.ph/aBDqL "past time, low fat cannot be defended except by the willfully ignorant"], X (Archived, tweet quoted in tweet no longer available)</ref>}}

==Other views==

Lundell is a [[global warming denialist]]<ref>https://archive.ph/9tZkd</ref> and has re-tweeted a controversial transphobic comment from [[Matt Walsh]] claiming "''The trans agenda was invented by pedophilic psychologists, degenerate quacks, lunatic sexologists, literal Nazi scientists, and other assorted deviants''".<ref>https://archive.ph/MD9pu</ref>

==Criticism==
The [[National Council Against Health Fraud]] has noted that:

{{quotebox|Dwight C. Lundell, M.D., who lost his [[Arizona]] medical license in 2008, has been promoting books that clash with scientific knowledge of health disease and prevention. His central premise is coronary heart disease is caused by inflammation and that lowering cholesterol levels will not lower the risk of heart attacks or strokes. Instead, he advocates a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, low-dose aspirin, and fish oil and conjugated linoleic acid supplements for everyone. Lundell's offerings are promoted with the statement that he has performed more than 5,000 operations during 25 years of cardiothoracic surgical practice. But they fail to mention that between 2000 and 2008, he was subjected to five regulatory actions by the Arizona Medical Board and in 2004 he was also convicted of willful failure to file federal income tax returns for the years 1992 though 1996.<ref>[https://www.ncahf.org/digest11/11-31.html Consumer Health Digest #11-31]</ref>}}

==Publications==
*''The Cure for Heart Disease: Truth Will Save a Nation'' (2007)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180219004033/http://www.hpc.go.th/director/data/ncd/GreatCholesterLie.pdf ''The Great Cholesterol Lie''] (2008)

==External links==
*[https://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/lundell.html A Skeptical Look at Dwight Lundell, M.D.] — Quackwatch

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lundell, Dwight}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Cholesterol and statin denialists]]
[[Category:Food woo promoters]]
[[Category:Global warming denialists]]
[[category:Living people]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]

Categories: Authors, Cholesterol and statin denialists, Food woo promoters, Global warming denialists, Living people, Pseudoscience promoters