Some of the best-loved junk food was once marketed as medicine. For instance, Dr Pepper was touted as a brain tonic that energized you and improved your thinking skills.  Some other foods that once claimed healthy benefits (before the FDA got after them, no doubt):

  • Graham Crackers were in invented in 1829 by a Christian minister, who tried to save young boys from pleasuring themselves. Reverend Graham believed that “dry crackers would bore the sexual appetite right out of you.”
  • Corn Flakes was marketed to hospitals to improve patients' diets. Before Jell-o, Corn Flakes was the go-to easy meal for hospitals to feed patients in bed.
  • Fig Newtons were marketed back in 1892 as a digestive aid. In that era, almost any ailment was considered to be caused by digestion problems. So Fig Newtons would be prescribed to a person with the common cold, a swollen knee or cramps.
  • Coca-Cola and 7-Up are carbonated beverages that people once believed were good for them. 7-Up was even marketed as a hangover cure. Even today, mothers will give sick children warm soda or a flat 7-Up to settle their stomachs. (In Ireland, they give babies a nip of Guinness Stout, but that's another story.)
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