How tomato ketchup was used as a medicinal cure for diarrhea, liver damage

 

In the 1830s, Dr. John Cook Bennett promoted tomato ketchup as a medicinal cure for issues like indigestion, diarrhea, and liver damage.

The Ohio-based physician decided to turn it into so-called “tomato pills,” which he then sold as a medical breakthrough after the novelty of tomatoes wore off and people finally stopped believing they were poisonous and they started exploring new ways to use them in the 19th century.

By 1837, Dr. John Bennett had already partnered with drug manufacturer Archibald Miles to produce the pills.

The tomato ketchup continued after dozens of competitors to create their own versions of the pills, ultimately ruining Bennett’s ideals.

The idea of ketchup as a medical miracle was officially abandoned by 1850 after several studies showed it works better on burgers than smearing on broken bones and risking an infection while hoping they would magically heal on their own.

Several decades later, ketchup reclaimed its rightful place in the kitchen.

John Cook Bennett was born on August 4, 1804 and died  August 5, 1867.

He was an American physician and briefly a ranking and influential leader of the Latter Day Saint movement.

Source: Elvisanokyenews.net