People sold tomato ketchup as medicine in the 1830s to treat stomach aches and diarrhea.

In 1834, Dr. John Cook Bennett claimed tomatoes could cure almost any illness. At that time, many people in the United States feared tomatoes and thought they were poisonous. Bennett published recipes for tomato ketchup to treat indigestion.By 1835, a businessman named Archibald Miles started selling tomato extract in pill form. These pills were sold across the country to treat coughs, headaches, and joint pain. The market grew quickly as more people began to believe in the healing power of tomatoes.The medicine craze ended around 1850. Many competitors sold fake pills that contained no tomatoes and used harsh chemicals instead. Doctors eventually proved that the tomato pills did not actually cure these diseases.In 1876, Henry Heinz started selling the modern version of ketchup. He used vinegar and sugar to keep the sauce fresh for a long time. This changed ketchup from a failed medicine into a common condiment for meals.Today, we know tomatoes are healthy because they contain an antioxidant called lycopene. Lycopene helps protect the heart and skin. However, tomatoes cannot cure serious infections like cholera as Bennett once claimed.