I’m not a fan of Dr. Oz, usually. Mostly because of his dogmatic approach to nutrition that seemed to ignore newer research in favor of the typical orthodoxy. An example of this can be seen in the episode where he had Gary Taubes on as a guest (Segment 1, Segment 2, Segment 3). His smug condescension is almost palpable, and so I wrote him off as a largely well-meaning but misinformed guy.

So it was with a fair bit of apprehension that I finally relented to the people sending me links and watched his latest episode on cholesterol. I was expecting the worst because it has the same setup as the Gary Taubes interview. That interview was billed as, “The Man Who Thinks Everything Dr. Oz Says Is Wrong”. The new episode is billed as, “The Doctors Who Say Everything You Know About Cholesterol Is Wrong“. Undoubtably another Dr. Oz straw-man setup show…

Except it wasn’t.

In this episode, Dr. Oz has a remarkable change. It appears as if he has actually reversed course on many of the tenants he was so eager to dismiss with Gary Taubes. The episode guests are Jonny Bowden, Ph.D and Stephan Sinatra, M.D., F.A.C.C. who arepromoting their new book, “The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won’t Prevent Heart Disease-and the Statin-Free Plan That Will“. Takeaways Dr. Oz stresses for viewers of the new episode are:

  • Health professionals mostly got it wrong in the past in regards to cholesterol.
  • Cholesterol isn’t bad.
  • Dietary cholesterol does not equate to serum (blood) cholesterol.
  • High serum cholesterol is the result of sugar consumption/high glucose.
  • Cholesterol tests are largely meaningless.
  • Avoid statins (for most people).
  • If you are concerned, measure your small dense LDL.
  • Small dense LDL drives inflammation which drives heart disease.

Sound familiar? Maybe it’s time to have Gary Taubes back for an apology episode during which he presents him with a healthy check for the NuSi foundation.

Watch

Screen shot of Part 1 of Dr. Oz's episode on cholesterol.

Watch Dr. Oz in Part 1 of, “Everything You Know About Cholesterol is Wrong”

Screen shot of Part 2 of Dr. Oz's episode on cholesterol.

Watch Dr. Oz in Part 2 of, “Everything You Know About Cholesterol is Wrong”

Screen shot of Part 3 of Dr. Oz's episode on cholesterol.

Watch Dr. Oz in Part 3 of, “Everything You Know About Cholesterol is Wrong”

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