New head of MAHA revealed as he lays bare radical plan to transform US health… and ban Covid shots
Dr Aseem Malhotra, pictured here, has been named MAHA’s Chief Medical Advisor
A newly appointed health advisor to the Trump-aligned Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative has unveiled a bold plan to overhaul the nation’s health.
British cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra, a long-time ally of MAHA leaders like health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and NIH head Dr Jay Bhattacharya, has joined the movement as Chief Medical Advisor.
As a cardiologist and former advisor to the UK government, Dr Malhotra helped campaign for taxes on sugary drinks, worked to lower the amount of Brits taking statins unnecessarily and worked with government leaders to remove ultraprocessed foods from hospitals and schools.
Dr Malhotra – who has also appeared on podcasts with Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson – hopes to bring force some of those changes in the US now too.
Speaking to DailyMail.com ahead of the official announcement, Dr Malhotra outlined his top three priorities — revising national dietary guidelines, cracking down on ultraprocessed foods and pushing for a moratorium on mRNA Covid vaccines.
‘We absolutely can make America healthy again in this electoral term,’ Dr Malhotra said.
‘I’m not here for political reasons. I’m here to reflect the evidence.’
As MAHA’s chief medical advisor, Dr Malhotra is not formally employed by the federal government, but he will serve as a leading voice of the movement, working closely with grassroots groups to advance its policy agenda.
Dr Malhotra will also relocate from his home in the UK to Washington, D.C., to stay closely engaged with the HHS, FDA, and other key agencies
Redefining the American Diet
Dr Malhotra is pictured with Dr Jay Bhattacharya, head of the National Institutes of Health
A central pillar of Dr Malhotra’s agenda is updating the US Dietary Guidelines, which are due for revision later this year.
Currently, the guidelines advise that 45–65 percent of a person’s daily calories come from carbohydrates.
But Dr Malhotra wants that number slashed in favor of low-carb diets, citing strong evidence that they reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes.
‘Re-evaluation of the guidelines is happening,’ he said. ‘I think we can get that sorted quite soon.’
Low-carb diets — defined as roughly 20 to 57 grams of carbs per day, the equivalent of 150 to 400 calories — limit blood sugar spikes and improve insulin sensitivity, reducing the likelihood of diabetes, which currently affects one in ten Americans.
High insulin levels, which often accompany high-carb diets, also promote fat storage and weight gain.
By rewriting these federal recommendations, Dr Malhotra believes the government can directly influence everything from public school lunches to medical advice issued by doctors.
MAHA has already exerted its influence in West Virginia, which passed the country’s most comprehensive food additive ban to clean up school foods by the start of the next school year.
Arkansas and Indiana have also weighed the possibility of removing junk foods from food stamp programs.
Dr Malhotra told this website these states would be ‘particularly amenable’ to further restrictions and could serve as an example for lobbying the rest of the country.
Targeting ‘The New Tobacco’
Another cornerstone of his vision: a crackdown on ultraprocessed foods, which he likens to smoking in the 1950s.
‘Ultraprocessed foods should be treated like tobacco,’ he told DailyMail.com.
These products, often high in sugar, refined oils, and synthetic additives, now make up more than half of the average American diet.
One study published this year estimated that diets high in ultraprocessed foods may be responsible for 120,000 premature deaths annually in the US.
Citing parallels to the public health campaign against cigarettes, Dr Malhotra supports policies that would remove these foods from hospitals and schools, where people may be especially vulnerable.
‘These are environments where people expect to be protected, not poisoned,’ he said.
He points to Arizona’s recent ban on ultraprocessed foods in public schools—slated to take effect in 2026—as a model for other states. He believes California and West Virginia could be next.
Arizona’s bill will ban foods containing bromate, propylparaben, titanium dioxide, brominated vegetable oil, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 3 and/or Red 40 from schools.
Public health data appears to support his urgency. Studies show children who consume high levels of ultraprocessed foods are more likely to become obese and suffer from high blood pressure.
In hospitals, poor dietary choices have been linked to worse outcomes for patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Achieving this within the next several months lie in using MAHA’s impact in these states as examples to the HHS, which Dr Malhotra will communicate with as a liaison.
He will also help coordinate policies drafted by state legislators and the HHS and use them to help appeal to states not as closely aligned with MAHA principles, such as California and New York.
Dr Malhotra suspects states like West Virginia and California, which have both passed legislation to remove food additives, would be ‘particularly amenable’ to further bans on ultraprocessed foods.
A Contentious Vaccine Reckoning
Lindy Ayers (left), 31, is wheelchair bound after doctors diagnosed her with a Covid vaccine injury. Danielle Baker (right) of Ohio claims that she has suffered heart and lung failure due to the vaccine
Dr Malhotra’s most controversial stance, however, is his call to halt the use of mRNA Covid vaccines.
‘It’s very clear to me that perhaps this is the most important issue that has galvanized MAHA and helped elect President Trump,’ he said.
‘There is a pandemic of the vaccine injured. We can’t make America healthy again if we don’t address this.’
Dr Malhotra estimates there are ‘hundreds of thousands’ of vaccine injuries, and he wants states to pass legislation pausing use of the vaccines while a comprehensive review is conducted.
Official federal data offers a more cautious picture.
As of late 2024, roughly 14,000 people have filed injury claims with the U.S. vaccine injury compensation program, out of 270 million Americans who received at least one dose.
Recognized vaccine-linked conditions like myocarditis and pericarditis are estimated to affect one in 50,000 recipients.
Even so, Dr Malhotra said: ‘I’m not saying the vaccine didn’t have some benefits for some people,’ referencing elderly and immunocompromised groups.
But, he added, the shot ‘has showed more harm than good and never should have been rolled out in the first place.’
The data supporting his argument, however, is slim.
A study from Yale University earlier this year identified a possible ‘post-vaccination syndrome’ in rare cases, suggesting a link to neurological symptoms such as dizziness, brain fog, and tinnitus.
However, the researchers emphasized the study was small and effects like these are likely very rare.
DailyMail.com has also spoken with patients who claim the vaccine left them with severe injuries including paralysis, organ failure, and brain inflammation.
These reports, while anecdotal, have further fueled MAHA’s push to pause the vaccines and assess the risks.
Dr Malhotra said: ‘There’s more than enough evidence. There is no reason to wait. It’s a no-brainer.’
He believes the political landscape is ripe for action. Florida, Idaho, and Ohio—all states that have introduced vaccine-related bills—are, in his view, ‘first movers’ that could implement a pause as soon as this year.
Fellow MAHA figure Dr Bhattacharya also supports this approach, telling DailyMail.com in February: ‘Public trust can only be restored with a moratorium.’
Rethinking Medical Education
Dr Malhotra poses with Calley Means, brother of US Surgeon General nominee Dr Casey Means and prominent MAHA member
Beyond public policy, Dr Malhotra wants to address what he calls the ‘overmedication’ crisis in America by introducing mandatory nutrition education in medical schools and hospitals.
‘Most doctors don’t have a clue,’ he said. He agrees with Dr Means, who recently slammed U.S. medical schools for failing to offer courses on nutrition.
Dr Malhotra sees this as a chance to cut down on unnecessary prescriptions and shift toward lifestyle-based treatments.
‘Doctors should be trained to help people heal, not just to manage symptoms with pills,’ he said.
Currently, 40 percent of Americans over age 65 take five or more prescription drugs, according to a 2024 JAMA study.
Another report found that one in three Americans had been prescribed a medication that was either inappropriate or unnecessary.
By educating future doctors differently, Dr Malhotra believes the health system can pivot toward prevention, especially for lifestyle-driven conditions like heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Dr Malhotra hopes to achieve this by using his role as an advisor on MAHA’s educational content to set up pilot programs in certain hospitals later this year to introduce nutrition education to doctors and medical students.
The Road Ahead
It remains unclear which states will be first to adopt MAHA’s sweeping health platform or how quickly it could gain traction at the federal level. But Dr Malhotra said the campaign is ready to mobilize.
He told this website: ‘I’m going to hit the ground running and am ready to give my all to make America healthy again.’
And independent experts are already on his side.
Gary Brecka, a biohacker and celebrity health coach with ties to the Trump family, shared in a statement: ‘Dr Malhotra’s track record speaks for itself: he’s been instrumental in reshaping global conversations around dietary guidelines, heart disease prevention, and medical ethics.
‘His leadership will be a tremendous asset to MAHA and to the future of public health.’
