It claimed it could steady a man's nerves and clear his brain.

它聲稱可以穩定人的神經、讓腦袋更清晰。

It could keep you cool in the summer.

夏日裡為你帶來涼爽。

It was food for muscles.

對肌肉有幫助。

For "the warding off of disease."

能夠「擊退病魔」。

And for "men of brains."

是「明智之選」。

It was the "most scientific brain and nerve food in existence."

它曾經是「市面上最有科學根據的大腦、神經系統食物」。

These ads might seem ancient, but in connecting breakfast cereal with health, they aren't so different from how breakfast has been sold to us ever since.

或許這些廣告看起來陳舊可笑，但從早餐麥片與身體健康的連結看來，從那時開始，便與早餐銷售手法沒什麼不同。

"Cheerios breakfast gives you the power protein."

「香果圈麥片為你帶來活力充沛的蛋白質」。

"How do I stay so slim?"

「我是怎麼保持苗條的？」

"I watch what I eat, like Post Grape Nuts for breakfast."

「我會注意自己吃下那些食物，例如早餐我都吃 Grape Nuts 玉米片。」

"Data shows women who eat breakfast tend to weigh less than those who don't."

「資料指出有吃早餐的女性，比起不吃早餐者體重往往較輕。」

The problem with a lot of these claims is — they're not exactly true.

這些主張大多很有問題—它們並非完全精確。

But the idea of breakfast being good for health—especially weight loss—has persisted for over a century.

但是吃早餐才健康的概念—尤其對減輕體重來說—已經持續了超過一個世紀。

So where does this myth come from?

那麼這樣的迷思是從哪裡來的？

And what does this guy have to do with it?

跟這位先生又有什麼關係？

"For children there's pretty strong evidence that breakfast is a good idea."

「對兒童來講，早餐有益健康有相當可靠的證據。」

That's Julia Belluz who reports on health for Vox.

這位是 Julia Belluz，她在 Vox 負責健康領域的報導。

"As an adult one of the most common claims we hear about breakfast is that it really promotes weight loss."

「身為成人我們最常聽到的主張是早餐能有效幫助減重。」

And that idea didn't come out of nowhere.

這樣的想法並不是完全沒有根據。

There's a whole body of research that connects breakfast with weight loss.

有大量的研究都把早餐、減重兩件事連結在一起。

But the methods behind a lot of those studies don't always hold up.

但這些研究所採用的方法卻不是每次都站得住腳。

Like this one, that found an association between eating breakfast, and having a low body mass index.

像是這項研究，它發現吃早餐、低身體質量指數之間有相關性。

That might be true, but studies like this aren't actually testing what would happen if you were to change your breakfast behavior.

這可能是對的，但像這樣的研究卻沒有實際測試如果改變早餐習慣，會發生什麼事。

"The problem with those studies is that breakfast skippers and breakfast eaters are different people."

「那些研究的問題在於，吃不吃早餐的習慣會因人而異。」

"So maybe the breakfast eaters earn more money and exercise more and that explains why they weigh less than the breakfast skippers."

「或許習慣吃早餐的人賺比較多錢、較常運動，所以比起不吃早餐者體重較輕。」

Most of these studies also don't take into account a major factor: what we eat for breakfast.

而且這些研究大部分都沒有考慮這個關鍵：早餐的內容是什麼。

There's likely a big difference between eating a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, or a bowl of steel cut oats.

你吃的是一碗水果球還是一碗刀切燕麥，兩者可能差很多。

There was even a study of studies that tried to answer the question: does our best research on breakfast prove that it helps with weight loss?

甚至有不只一項研究試圖回答此問題：我們最完善的早餐研究是否能證明它幫助減重？

"Researchers looked at 13 randomized controlled trials, the highest quality of evidence on breakfast and its effect on weight loss."

「關於這個問題，學者檢視了 13 項隨機的控制試驗、最高品質的證據。」

When researchers looked at the studies, they found there's "no evidence to support the notion" that eating breakfast helps you lose weight.

研究者看過後發現「沒有證據支持」吃早餐幫助減重的觀念。

"And they found that breakfast might even had the opposite of the desired effect."

「他們甚至發現吃早餐可能會有反效果。」

"In some studies people actually gained a little bit of weight when they started to eat breakfast."

「在一些研究裡，人們在開始吃早餐後其實反而增加了一點體重。」

So if the available science doesn't actually support this idea, why do we still believe eating breakfast is a healthier way to live?

既然科學目前無法證實此觀念，為什麼我們還會相信吃早餐是比較健康的生活方式呢？

Well, it has a lot to do with these guys.

這些人的影響很大。

Before they got into cereal, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will Keith Kellogg, ran a family business.

踏入麥片生意之前，John Harvey Kellogg 醫生還有弟弟 Will Keith Kellogg 經營著家族事業。

The "Battle Creek Sanitarium."

Battle Creek 療養院。

It was a wellness center, a place where the wealthy could go for what they called "biologic living".

那是一間健康中心，有錢人去那邊過著他們聲稱之「符合生物科學的生活」。

It included things like salt glow baths, light treatments, and strange looking exercise machines.

內容包含鹽粒打磨浴、光療，還有看起來很怪的運動器材。

It was there in 1898 that John Harvey came up with corn flakes, as a way to curb indigestion.

1898 年正是在那間療養院裡，John Harvey 想到了玉米片的主意，用來抑制消化不良。

But he was also an extremely religious doctor who believed masturbation was a carnal sin.

但他也是位極為虔誠的醫生，他認為自慰是一種肉體的罪惡。

And he prescribed a bland diet, including corn flakes, as part of the cure.

他開了混合飲食的處方當作部分治療，裡面包含玉米片。

In 1906, John Harvey's brother, Will Keith, took corn flakes, and mass-marketed them to the world.

1906 年 John Harvey 的弟弟 Will Keith 將玉米片大量行銷至全世界。

By 1917, Good Health, a magazine edited by John Harvey Kellogg, wrote "In many ways, the breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

到了 1917 年 John Harvey Kellogg 主編的 Good Health 雜誌寫道：「就許多方面來看，早餐是一天中最重要的一餐。」

With claims like this, cereal makers solidified the idea of a healthy breakfast.

配合這樣的主張，麥片廠商強化了健康早餐的概念。

"It repairs and it sustains all body tissue."

「它能修復並維護所有身體組織的運作。」

"It's part of your good breakfast."

「它是健康早餐的一部分。」

And today, a lot of the science cited in cereal commercials has a similar source.

直至今日，許多麥片廣告援引的都是類似的證據。

"Part of a good breakfast."

「健康早餐的一部分。」

Take a look at the small print on these studies.

仔細瞧瞧這些研究上細小的印刷字體。

This one concludes breakfast skipping is not good for managing weight.

這份的結論是跳過早餐不吃不利於對體重管理。

It's funded by the Kellogg Company.

研究資金來源為家樂氏公司。

And this one found breakfast skipping had other health costs — like high cholesterol.

這項研究則發現不吃早餐會帶來其他不利於健康的影響—例如高膽固醇。

It's funded by another major breakfast maker, Quaker Oats.

資金來源為另一家早餐大廠：桂格燕麥。

So, knowing all this about the slippery science of breakfast—should we still be eating it?

那麼在知道這些令人存疑的早餐科學以後，我們到底該不該吃早餐呢？

There's little evidence that it's a great weight loss strategy, but that doesn't mean breakfast is bad.

沒什麼證據指出吃早餐是減重的有效策略，但這並不表示吃早餐不好。

"For a lot of people breakfast isn't pointless."

「對很多人來說吃早餐並非毫無助益。」

"It can be a good time of day to stock up on vitamins and nutrients."

「早餐時間可以是補充維他命和營養素的好時機。」

"But for the rest of us, it's up to you.”

「但對其他人而言，吃不吃早餐只是個人選擇。」

That means, if you're a breakfast eater, like Julia, you can carry on.

意思是如果你跟 Julia 一樣習慣吃早餐，就繼續吃。

And if you're a breakfast-skipper, like me?

而如果你像我一樣喜歡跳過早餐不吃？

Don't worry, the best science we have suggests we're probably just fine either way.

別擔心，目前科學指出要不要吃早餐都可以。

Thanks for watching.

感謝觀賞。