The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (or THINCS) is a group of scientists, physicians, and other academicians from around the world who dispute the widely accepted lipid hypothesis of atherosclerosis. THINCS was founded in January 2003, and its founder and current spokesman is Uffe Ravnskov.
Cholesterol controversy
Since the 1950s, the lipid hypothesis (also known as the "Diet-Heart Idea"), which posits that saturated fat and high cholesterol play a role in the causation of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, has gained general acceptance in the medical and scientific communities. Currently, there is scientific consensus that the lipid hypothesis has been validated.
For example, in 1984, a National Institutes of Health consensus development conference found that:
The success of cholesterol-lowering medication such as statins in preventing heart attacks has been seen as further validation of the lipid hypothesis.
THINCS members dispute this consensus and assert that the lipid hypothesis is not adequately proven by the evidence. They point to a number of studies which, in their view, either contradict the lipid hypothesis or show it to be inconclusive.
The THINCS website front page stated in June 2008:
The members of THINCS have various differing hypotheses on the actual causes of heart disease, but all agree however in rejecting the lipid hypothesis, which they claim has repeatedly failed to be validated by scientific testing and research.