1984 年 3 月：《时代》杂志刊登了题为“胆固醇：坏消息来了”的专题报道，封面上是一个由培根和鸡蛋组成的悲伤的脸。这篇文章向膳食胆固醇和饱和脂肪宣战。鸡蛋是毒药。黄油是死亡。美国民众惊慌失措，一夜之间改用人造黄油和蛋清。2014 年 9 月：《时代》杂志刊登了一篇题为“吃黄油”的文章，并配上了一张黄油卷的照片。三十年后，他们承认自己错了。科学从未支持胆固醇假说。饱和脂肪不会导致心脏病。膳食胆固醇也不会显著升高血液胆固醇水平。但书页之间究竟发生了什么：三十年来，人们一直避免食用鸡蛋和黄油。三十年来人造黄油的消费使反式脂肪在人群中广泛传播。三十年来，低脂产品充斥着大量的糖分。尽管人人都遵循防疫指南，但心脏病发病率在过去三十年里仍在攀升。《时代》杂志花了 30 年时间恐吓人们，散布关于肥胖的谣言，导致肥胖和糖尿病流行，然后悄悄地用一张黄油卷发的照片承认“哎呀，算了”。没有道歉，没有承担责任，也没有承认造成的损害。就“吃黄油”吧，就好像他们没花三十年时间告诉你吃黄油会要你的命一样。那些在1984年相信他们，并在接下来的30年里避免肥胖，却因此健康状况每况愈下的人，再也回不去了。代谢损伤已经造成，信任也已荡然无存。但至少《时代》杂志因此获得了两张标志性的封面。March 1984: Time Magazine runs "Cholesterol: And Now The Bad News" with a sad face made of bacon and eggs on the cover.The article declares total war on dietary cholesterol and saturated fat. Eggs are poison. Butter is death.The American public freaks out and switches to margarine and egg whites overnight.September 2014: Time Magazine runs "Eat Butter" with a photograph of a butter curl.Thirty years later they admit they were wrong. The science never supported the cholesterol hypothesis. Saturated fat doesn't cause heart disease. Dietary cholesterol doesn't raise blood cholesterol significantly.But here's what happened between those covers:Three decades of people avoiding eggs and butter. Three decades of margarine consumption spreading trans fats through the population. Three decades of low-fat products loaded with sugar.Three decades of heart disease rates climbing despite everyone following the guidelines.Time Magazine spent 30 years terrifying people about fat, contributed to an obesity and diabetes epidemic, then quietly admitted "oops, never mind" with a butter curl photograph.No apology. No accountability. No acknowledgment of the damage.Just "eat butter" like they hadn't spent three decades telling you it would kill you.The people who believed them in 1984 and avoided fat for 30 years while getting sicker don't get those years back. The metabolic damage is done. The trust is destroyed.But at least Time got two iconic covers out of it.