Tomato sauce (ketchup) was sold in the 1830s as medicine

ketchup

In an effort to boost sales, one enterprising manufacturer bottled it as Dr. Miles Compound Extract of Tomato, reputed to cure anything from baldness to athlete’s foot, and all points in between. In a counter-attack, the H.J. Heinz company rooted out scientific studies which claimed that tomatoes had antioxidants which were beneficial in preventing cancers. While that is true, the carotenoid known as lycopene, occurs in such small quantities, that even when applied liberally to your lunch, the benefits are pretty much nil.