In the past, there were products that were sold with the claims of being healthy and that our minds today cannot accept their use as healthy. Some of these products have taken away the health of many people in the past, and some continue to do so. Let’s talk about the times when 5 of these products were highly recommended.
Throughout human history, many substances have been referred to with labels such as harmful and beneficial, and these labels have changed over time. One of the biggest reasons for this was the developing science. Thanks to science, we have become better acquainted with many plants, foods and chemicals and have been able to draw more definite conclusions about their effects.
However, in order to make these inferences, the knowledge provided by science had to come to a certain place. Therefore, people are tens, hundreds; maybe for thousands of years He lived by consuming poisons that he thought were healthy. Oddly enough, the most interesting and obvious of these mistakes were not thousands of years ago, but in the recent past; It happened 1-2 centuries ago. Let’s take a quick look at the stories of harmful products that were even claimed to be drugs in the past.
Products that were sold for the purpose of healing on time and whose damage is clearly known today:
cocaine
Cocaine, found in the coca plant used by the Incas thousands of years ago, is known as one of the most harmful substances used as a stimulant today. Before chewing or brewing coca leaves While this consumed substance provided a good amount of energy from coffee, it was later distilled to reach the state known today. This extract, in which cocaine is much more concentrated, was found in 1859 by the German chemist Albert Niemann.
Cocaine, which became well known in the medical community in the 1880s, was adopted by Sigmund Freud, who is known as the father of psychoanalysis. Freud, who argued that cocaine is a ‘magic’ substance that destroys problems such as depression and sexual impotence., wrote this substance on the prescriptions of many of his patients. Freud thought that cocaine use was not harmful and that the dose did not matter. But one of his friends to whom he had given the drug began to have paranoid hallucinations, and another died directly from cocaine. But years later, in 1922, possession, sale and use of cocaine was banned. Today, the coca plant is still consumed as a tea in South America. But cocaine, sold as a stimulant, is banned in most parts of the world.
Cigarettes and other tobacco products
Quit Immediately: How Much Does Smoking Damage Your Environment and You?
The health hazards of smoking are known to everyone today, without the need for a medical license. Cigarettes and other tobacco products are sold with health warnings printed on their packages and some offensive pictures. So was this always the case? Of course not, like the other items and products on the list. The history of tobacco use goes back at least 8,000 years. E.g Native Americans used tobacco both in religious rituals and for its health benefits. The use of this plant was also quite common in the Middle East. Tobacco, which became widespread in western civilization centuries later, was later in pre-wrapped form; began to be sold under the name of cigarettes. Tobacco, an important source of income for producers, has become a part of daily life like tea, coffee and food. Since its harm to health has not been fully recognized yet, false advertisements have been made about it.
Today, smoking, which many people try to quit and many people look at with disgust, has become so popular that It was recommended by doctors from the 1930s to the 1950s. Of course, these doctors were fake. Most were models hired by cigarette brands, and all suggested their own brand. The fact that smoking causes problems such as coughing and shortness of breath was also explained by these ‘doctors’ as follows: “Dusty and dirty cigarettes and not enough menthol can cause problems in the throat. Get a fresh cigarette!”
Heroin
Heroin, one of the drugs produced using ‘morphine’ obtained from the opium plant, was invented in England in 1874. The use of this substance, which is seen to be stronger than codeine and pure morphine and thought to be more unproblematic in terms of side effects, began 22 years later. your drug Hundreds of thousands of women became addicted to heroin because it was sold as a solution to menstrual pain. We will come to the interesting solution used for heroin addiction in a moment.
Serial production of heroin started in Germany shortly thereafter; it became a prescription medicine for complaints such as cough, cold and pain. It was even invented in 1912 to reduce the symptoms of bronchitis and colds. Even children began to be given heroin. However, with the increase in users who said they were addicted, the pharmaceutical company Bayer stopped production of heroin in 1913. Heroin use is banned in the United States. Taxes were imposed on other opioid substances. From that date on, heroin became a substance that was produced and sold illegally. Today, an average of 115 people die every day due to heroin use.
Kola
Coke is widely consumed today as a soft drink produced by dozens of brands. However, when this drink first appeared, the recipe was a little different than it is now. The first cola found by John Pemberton, a US pharmacist, was called ‘Coca-Cola’. Yes, we are talking about the brand you know today. The name does not have a very special meaning, because in the making of the drink coca leaf and kola nut was being used. Coca leaves contain cocaine, a psychoactive alkaloid. The kola nut contains very high amounts of caffeine. Caffeine and cocaine are both highly stimulant substances.
The drink, whose recipe and rights were purchased by an entrepreneur during his stay, began to be sold as a soft drink. The drink, which became popular in a short time thanks to the marketing strategies of entrepreneur Asa Griggs Candler, became known for its pleasant taste and energizing effect. Even when heroin was used as medicine Coca-Cola was given to people who had trouble quitting heroin. This drink, which is recommended for headaches, nervous diseases, weakness and many other ailments, of course, has not been sold with the same recipe until today. Coca-Cola, which has been containing coca leaf extract since its discovery in 1885, began to be sold without coca in 1903. Years later, the harms of the amount of acid, additives and sugar in it can no longer be ignored. Today, it is known that all similar soft drinks can cause many health problems, from obesity to heart diseases.
Radium
in 1898 Discovered by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie Radium is a highly radioactive element. The harm to human health perhaps does not even need to be explained today. However, these damages were not always known as they are known today. Radium, which was officially a trend in the early 1900s, cost many people’s lives.
Radium, which began to be used for watches and paints that can be seen in the dark, has spread to many areas on the grounds that it shrinks tumors. Many people have used radium make-up materials and care products because of the claims that it gives energy, is good for the skin, and so on; He consumed cocktails and soft drinks made with radium. The definitive recognition of the harms of radium was due to the terrible health problems faced by those who use these products or who produce them in factories. Problems such as joint pain, wounds, shortness of breath are just some of them. Even many people exposed to radium his jaw melted down. The cause of Marie Curie’s death was also exposure to radium.
The ‘healthy’ products of this era:
Some vegan products
Is Vegan Eating Really Good for Heart Health?
The health benefits of a vegan diet are undeniable. When the right food supplements are taken, this lifestyle can prevent many diseases, especially cancer, cardiovascular diseases. However, there is something to be aware of: Many products sold with the ‘vegan’ label are not as healthy as it seems. Useless and sometimes even harmful materials can be used to replace meat and dairy products in these products. Tofu, for example, is made almost entirely from soy. Consuming a bar of soy as a meal does not make much sense in terms of health.
Another ingredient used in some meat alternatives such as ‘Seitan’ is wheat protein; or, as it is known, gluten. Even those who are not gluten intolerant gluten, which causes some inflammation in your stomach and intestinesis used as the main material of such products. So when you eat seitan, it would not be wrong to say that you eat a spicy mold and gluten. In addition to these, there are many additives used to replace animal foods in packaged vegan foods.
The reason why these products are harmful to health is of course Not that they contain no animal products. It should be noted that satisfying vegan meals and snacks can be obtained without using these products. Of course, if you are vegan and want to eat seitan once in a while, there is no problem to be exaggerated.
‘Light’ products
Many products sold with phrases such as ‘light’ or ‘diet’ may contain even more unhealthy ingredients instead of reduced ‘unhealthy’ ingredients. For example, a product sold under the name ‘light’ because it is fat-free may contain much more sugar than you might expect. Or in a product sold as sugar-free Artificial sweetener can affect appetite and cause worse results in weight loss.
meal replacement powders
As you know, many nutrients in powder form are sold as food supplements in markets, sports shops and pharmacies. There’s nothing wrong with just using them as supplements, as it’s not much different than taking a vitamin D supplement. However, some of these powder products are sold with the logic of meals, not with the logic of food supplements. These products, in which all kinds of macro and micro nutrients we need during the day are compressed, it may not be processed as it should be in our metabolism. In addition, there are many synthetic forms of vitamins and minerals to be added to supplements, and not every formula can be digested with the same benefit. You and the person you buy the meal replacement powders may not have enough information about the subject. Therefore, it would be most logical to show the contents of the product to your doctor and consult him, or to eat the food in its original form.
