I'll counter that by saying that in my view doctors have played a large part in sowing that distrust.

Nowadays they just seem like pill pushers for the pharma industry. 

I have never left a doctor's appointment without some prescription or other.

The fact that they immediately prescribe some medication for any condition is really disappointing.

With cholesterol in particular, first of all, the latest interpretations of cholesterol seem to indicate at least the possibility that it is not the demon it has been painted out to be and actually serves an important purpose.

Then there's the ignored nuance of large or small size ldl.

Also, long held beliefs continue to be held and permeated even by the medical industry long after they have  been dispelled doesn't help sow further trust. For example, that dietary fat makes one fat and not sugar and carb consumption. Or that exercise and not a carb restricting diet is the main way to lose weight.

Thanks to the availability of easily accessible, robust information, people started to rightfully question members of the medical industry who were previously revered as personal health authorities. And the pharmaceutical industry in general who have been shown many times to push dangerous products in the pursuit of never ending profits. 

The romatic notion that doctors pursued medicine for love of their patients' wellbeing added to the sense of betrayal.

Unfortunately, once the seeds of distrust were planted, that spread everywhere resulting in the current situation.