How The American College of Cardiology Stepped Up Their
Marketing Game
Public Interest Groups Preying on The Gullible
Vegans tote Dr. Kim Williams, MD like a medal of honor, although most don’t even know his name. They just know him as the president of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) who has become famous by being vegan and, to many, a leader of what seems a prestigious cardiovascular institution. However, I’m very sorry to tell you that the American College of Cardiology is not some sophisticated research body or decorated university of higher learning. No… the American College of Cardiology is nothing more than a glorified public interest group
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This means they campaign to the general public of America to get support (usually in the form of monetary donations) to lobby for change in Congress. This might seem innocent enough to some, but American public interest groups have a long history of very corrupt behavior that usually involves someone at the top (perhaps even Williams himself) lining their pockets with donation money. The evidence for the ACC fitting this mold of fraudulence is layered throughout their “advocacy” program.
If you think about it, making “Dr.” Williams (I use the quotation marks because he never practiced medicine past his residency, he’s nothing more than a spokesman now) their president was really genius. Before they had a vegan leader, I can guarantee you that barely a handful of people had heard of the organization. However, now, they have an entire army of keyboard warriors that use the ACC president as their sole link to what they think is nutritional legitimacy. The ACC essentially found a very outspoken social movement that was in dire need of evidence to support it (someone to speak over the massive amounts of research that proves the very real health risks of an entirely plant-based diet) to be a whole new demographic of supporters.
The ACC’s next stroke of genius was how they advertised this. They didn’t go out and put “Dr.” Williams as a co-author of legitimate coronary research articles. Vegans don’t look there. (If they did, they wouldn’t be vegan.) What they did was make a long string of YouTube videos of interviews with Williams. Plant-based activists have proven time and time again that reading is way above their pay grade. Every scrap of information they have comes from either YouTube or hilariously fictional Netflix documentaries.
If you think about it, making “Dr.” Williams (I use the quotation marks because he never practiced medicine past his residency, he’s nothing more than a spokesman now) their president was really genius. Before they had a vegan leader, I can guarantee you that barely a handful of people had heard of the organization. However, now, they have an entire army of keyboard warriors that use the ACC president as their sole link to what they think is nutritional legitimacy. The ACC essentially found a very outspoken social movement that was in dire need of evidence to support it (someone to speak over the massive amounts of research that proves the very real health risks of an entirely plant-based diet) to be a whole new demographic of supporters.
The ACC’s next stroke of genius was how they advertised this. They didn’t go out and put “Dr.” Williams as a co-author of legitimate coronary research articles. Vegans don’t look there. (If they did, they wouldn’t be vegan.) What they did was make a long string of YouTube videos of interviews with Williams. Plant-based activists have proven time and time again that reading is way above their pay grade. Every scrap of information they have comes from either YouTube or hilariously fictional Netflix documentaries.
Side note: I don’t say this to sound rude, and I sincerely apologize if the tone of this article sounds harsh. I’m simply pointing out the very urgent problem we have with false nutritional information being more accessible than the legitimate ones. I can’t tell you the amount of conversations I’ve had with vegans that basically ended up me having to explain to them why scholarly articles written by medical researchers with PhDs and years of hands-on experience is the only valid source of nutritional information… not YouTube videos of scrawny millennials pledging their entire lifestyle to some guy with an MD.
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How’s this for a rule of thumb: legitimate researchers don’t have the time to make lengthy propaganda films (yes, that is what they are) with cute cow fart graphics or broccoli bullet points. They’re spending their days in the lab recording the real world consequences of cutting whole food groups out of your diet.
So what does the science say about a vegan diet and heart disease? Of course I have some studies to share:
"The dietary intake of saturated fatty acids (SAFA) is associated with a modest increase in serum total cholesterol, but not with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Replacing dietary SAFA with carbohydrates (CHO), notably those with a high glycaemic index, is associated with an increase in CVD risk in observational cohorts."
Kuipers, R S, et al. “Saturated Fat, Carbohydrates and Cardiovascular Disease.” The Netherlands Journal of Medicine., U.S.
National Library of Medicine, Sept. 2011
"These epidemiologic data suggest that a high dietary glycemic load from refined carbohydrates increases the risk of CHD, independent of known coronary disease risk factors."
Am J Clin Nutr 2000;71:1455–61. Printed in USA. © 2000 American Society for Clinical Nutrition
"The evidence suggests that a diet including more eggs than is recommended (at least in some countries) may be used safely as part of a healthy diet in both the general population and for those at high risk of cardiovascular disease."
Fuller, Nicholas R., et al. “Egg Consumption and Human Cardio-Metabolic Health in People with and without
Diabetes.” Nutrients, MDPI, Sept. 2015.
"Based on available data, it appears that milk, cheese, and yogurt are inversely associated with cardiovascular disease risk."
Rice, Beth H. “Dairy and Cardiovascular Disease: A Review of Recent Observational Research.” Current Nutrition Reports,
Springer US, 2014.
If you're interested in more studies about why a balanced, omnivorous diet will always be healthier than even the most well-planned plant-based one, check out my Nutrition Series that linked over 150 studies that supported this exact fact.
So what does the science say about a vegan diet and heart disease? Of course I have some studies to share:
"The dietary intake of saturated fatty acids (SAFA) is associated with a modest increase in serum total cholesterol, but not with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Replacing dietary SAFA with carbohydrates (CHO), notably those with a high glycaemic index, is associated with an increase in CVD risk in observational cohorts."
Kuipers, R S, et al. “Saturated Fat, Carbohydrates and Cardiovascular Disease.” The Netherlands Journal of Medicine., U.S.
National Library of Medicine, Sept. 2011
"These epidemiologic data suggest that a high dietary glycemic load from refined carbohydrates increases the risk of CHD, independent of known coronary disease risk factors."
Am J Clin Nutr 2000;71:1455–61. Printed in USA. © 2000 American Society for Clinical Nutrition
"The evidence suggests that a diet including more eggs than is recommended (at least in some countries) may be used safely as part of a healthy diet in both the general population and for those at high risk of cardiovascular disease."
Fuller, Nicholas R., et al. “Egg Consumption and Human Cardio-Metabolic Health in People with and without
Diabetes.” Nutrients, MDPI, Sept. 2015.
"Based on available data, it appears that milk, cheese, and yogurt are inversely associated with cardiovascular disease risk."
Rice, Beth H. “Dairy and Cardiovascular Disease: A Review of Recent Observational Research.” Current Nutrition Reports,
Springer US, 2014.
If you're interested in more studies about why a balanced, omnivorous diet will always be healthier than even the most well-planned plant-based one, check out my Nutrition Series that linked over 150 studies that supported this exact fact.