Cardiologists are raising alarms about the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement’s push to eat more saturated fat and animal protein — warning it directly contradicts decades of gold-standard science on heart disease, the No. 1 killer of Americans.
Following the release of the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, cardiology experts say the newly revamped food pyramid elevates red meat, butter, and full-fat dairy in ways that could fuel higher rates of cardiovascular disease. Randomized controlled trials consistently show that replacing saturated fats with plant-based and seed oils can reduce heart disease risk by roughly 30% — benefits comparable to statin medications.
The George Washington University has health experts available who can provide tips on how to stay warm and discuss the health dangers these temperatures pose. If you would like to schedule an interview, please contact Katelyn Deckelbaum, katelyn [dot] deckelbaum
gwu [dot] edu (katelyn[dot]deckelbaum[at]gwu[dot]edu).
William Borden is a professor of medicine and health policy at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He specializes in preventive cardiology and the treatment of high blood cholesterol.
Andrew Choi is the co-director of multimodality cardiac imaging and associate professor of medicine and radiology at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He specializes in cardiovascular imaging and prevention.
Ramesh Mazhari is an associate professor of medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She specializes in interventional cardiology, cardiac catheterization and peripheral vascular disease.
Christian Nagy is a practicing cardiologist and assistant professor at GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences and is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology and adult congenital heart disease.
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