[Whilom]

I noticed that Prevention magazine this month has a cover story proclaiming the Ice Cream Diet, eat it every day and you're certain to live long and healthfully. Recently there have been a number of "studies" showing that eggs, and plenty of them, are "heart healthy." Other new "studies" declare that whole milk, taken abundantly, cures everything from cancer to obesity. I wait for the sure thing to happen soon -- "studies" showing that, as 16th Century British knew, smoking at least 40 cigarettes a day is essential to good health from 8 to 80. It isn't the fad that's important. It's the buck.

[tabsternager]

As Dave Barry said, for centuries the only weight loss diet was "Don't eat too much," but then later people realized that no money could be made from that diet; so they began inventing new ones.