MMA commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan has never been one to shy away from challenging mainstream health narratives. His recent conversation with nutritional biochemist Chris Masterjohn on The Joe Rogan Experience highlighted his growing frustration with outdated dietary dogma.
When discussing his predominantly meat-based diet, Rogan expressed exasperation at the reflexive concern people have about cholesterol. It is a worry he believes is rooted in decades-old misinformation rather than current science.
“I tell people I eat mostly meat, they go, ‘What about your cholesterol?'” Rogan said, capturing the knee-jerk reaction many Americans still have to animal-based diets. “I just take a breath. I don’t know what to tell you. Go read. I just can’t sit there and tell you that higher LDL cholesterol is actually associated with longer lifespans.”
The concern about dietary cholesterol traces back to the 1950s and 60s, when emerging research began linking saturated fat and cholesterol to heart disease. The narrative reached its peak in 1984 when Time magazine published its infamous cover featuring a frowning face made of eggs and bacon, declaring “Cholesterol has been proved deadly and our diets will never be the same.”
This proclamation followed an NIH consensus conference that certified cholesterol as the cause of heart disease, fundamentally reshaping American eating habits for generations.
What many don’t realize, as Masterjohn explained during the podcast, is that this shift was partially influenced by food industry lobbying, including a now-infamous case where sugar companies paid scientists to downplay sugar’s role in heart disease and redirect blame to fat.
For a mere $50,000, the trajectory of public health guidance was altered, leading millions to abandon butter and eggs in favor of margarine and seed oils.
Rogan’s frustration stems from the persistence of this outdated narrative despite mounting evidence suggesting a more nuanced picture. Masterjohn detailed how cholesterol itself isn’t the villain—it’s the building block for hormones, supports brain function, and plays crucial roles throughout the body.
The real issue, he argued, lies in oxidized seed oils that damage lipoproteins, triggering inflammatory responses that lead to atherosclerotic plaque formation.
“It’s so stunning,” Rogan remarked when discussing how many lives were affected by flawed dietary advice based on compromised research. “How many lives did you ruin with your s**tty advice?”
The comedian and podcast host has become increasingly vocal about his meat-heavy diet, which he credits for improved energy, mental clarity, and overall health.
Time magazine eventually reversed course, running a cover years later admitting “Scientists labeled fat the enemy. They were wrong.” But for Rogan, the damage had been done—decades of people avoiding nutrient-dense foods like eggs, butter, and red meat based on faulty science that was never properly corrected in the public mind.
