Dr Aseem Malhotra, one of Britain's leading cardiologists, claims that advice to cut down on foods with high sat fat content can actually INCREASE the risk of heart disease.
In fact, he suggested that an increase in sugar and carbohydrate intake had been overlooked as a cause in heart disease.
Dr Malhotra blasted current medical guidance and its "obsession with levels of total cholesterol", which he said "has led to the over-medication of millions of people with statins", which reduce cholesterol levels.
He claimed that adopting a Mediterranean diet rich in oily fish, olive oil, nuts and fruit and vegetables after a heart attack is almost three times as powerful in reducing death rates as taking a statin.
Dr Malhotra said: "The mantra that saturated fat must be removed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease has dominated dietary advice and guidelines for almost four decades.
"Yet scientific evidence shows that this advice has, paradoxically, increased our cardiovascular risks."
He added that when fat is removed from food, sugar is added instead to make it taste better.
He said: "It is time to bust the myth of the role of saturated fat in heart disease and wind back the harms of dietary advice that has contributed to obesity."
Professor David Haslam, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, backed up his claims, saying: "The assumption has been made that increased fat in the bloodstream is caused by increased saturated fat in the diet, whereas modern scientific evidence is proving that refined carbohydrates and sugar in particular are actually the culprits."
So... are we all down the chippy for our tea tonight?
