Dr Annika Dahlqvist
Best Practice - 2008

Dahlqvist had her own weight and health problems. She adopted a ketogenic diet, and lost weight easily. In her own words:

"I'm a doctor, a specialist in general medicine. I live in Njurunda, Sundsvall.

"In autumn 2004, I discovered how low carbohydrate diet helped me both to obesity and ill health. I had been suffering from enteritis (IBS), gastritis and acid reflux, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, insomnia, snoring, irritable bladder were other health problems. All these ailments or illnesses disappeared pretty quickly once I reduced carbohydrates in my diet, and increased the natural fat."

She began to tell her patients about her success, they followed her recommendation and eventually this got into the press.

In 2005 two dietitians reported her to the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, charging her with medical malpractice. In November 2006, her employer dismissed her, because her advice wasn't officially approved.

January 2008 a different answer came from the Swedish Experts Committee:

"…low carb diets can today be seen as compatible with scientific evidence, and is best practice for weight reduction, for patients who are overweight or with diabetes type 2.

… A number of studies have shown effect in the short term and no evidence of harm has emerged…"

After that she became a celebrity: "I went around the country and kingdom and held lectures on LCHF." She has also written several books.

She believes that the standard nutritional model only survives because of financial support from the food industry and pharmaceutical industry. Both make money from it. Carbohydrates encourage us to eat too often and to eat too much. The illness this creates, diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, are the lifeblood of the pharmaceutical industry.

In autumn 2009 there was a second turning point in her professional career. She argued against the mass vaccination against swine flu that was then recommended. It started a strong media campaign against her, because the authorities believed that vaccination was vital. She was suspended from work on the Primary Victims of the Västernorrland County Council because she was, "considered a dangerous person." Her celebrity status declined.

Later it turned out that there was an over-reaction to swine flu. Millions of doses of vaccine were produced that were never used. There is still debate about the decision to act urgently, and how effective the vaccine was. Dr Dahlqvist claims that; "I was right in the case of mass vaccination." ( Personally, I think that's still in dispute.)