An underrated question. The answer of course is twofold:
* Paternalism (Apple believes users are too stupid to be trusted to control their devices, and no amount of "I really know what I'm doing" confirmations could change that)
* Apple's biggest fear is being disintermediated by Google or Meta, the way WeChat did to phone manufacturers in China. An ability to side-load an app could allow a foothold for a powerful competitor who could wean you off of all their lock-in features in favor of an experience that would tie into a competing ecosystem.
When Apple was having issues a few weeks ago, commenters seemed impressed and relieved that it was reported truthfully on their status page, including the honesty to mark services with red dots instead of the usual “Some users may experience degraded performance” codswallop https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34916962
Getting good reporting on down status is unfortunately the pointy end of Goodhart’s Law. No real way to guarantee good reporting will happen, even Apple’s status page would likely start lying if anything started materially depending on it.
go step into the world of "covid vaccines are bad!" for a second (/r/newnormal) and you'll rescind this statement. It's getting out of hand, between misinformation and politicizing how we treat an infectious virus.
I've got high cholesterol from both parents -- when I was first tested (around 25), my total cholesterol was ~250, my HDLs were < 20. I had ran multiple half marathons that year, and I was eating rather well.
My doctor asked me to try cutting cholesterol out of my diet, and it helped remarkably. I went vegan for quite awhile, and added some foods that help with HDL. The next time I got checked, they were amazing.
I've since added some cheese/eggs/fish back into my diet, but I try to keep it low. I hover around 200, with pretty decent HDLs.
Genetic testing showed I (may) have some genetic issues around cholesterol recycling, so it's not a one-size-fits-all thing.
Yea, you can have issues with NPC1L1 or ABCG5/G8 which will impact cholesterol/plant sterol absorption or excretion in the gut. If you are a hyperabsorber, you may want to check your plant sterol levels (xenosterols), as they can lead to health issues.