Tomato effect
Thetomato effectoccurs when effectivetherapiesfor a condition are rejected because they do not make sense in the context of the current understanding or theory of thediseasein question.[1]The name refers to the fact thattomatoeswere rejected as afoodsource by mostNorth Americansuntil the end of the 19th century, because the prevailing belief at the time was that they werepoisonous.[2][3]
A parallel concern ismedical reversalwhich is new clinical information based on new clinical trials or understanding of a disease contradicting clinical practice. Medical reversal implies the original clinical practice failed to achieve success or had harms that outweighed benefits. That is contrasted with the phenomenon of replacement where a useful clinical practice is replaced by one that works better.[4]
Examples
[edit]Tomatoes were becoming a staple food in Europe by the 1560s; they were shunned in North America since they were considered poisonous until the 1820s.[2]Similarly,willow tree barkextract was ignored to provide relief of pain and fever, and it was not until the late 1800s with the commercial production ofsalicylate(also known asAspirin) that this treatment was prescribed to patients.[2]
In 1753, it was established thatscurvycan be treated withlemonjuice.[5]Despite this knowledge, it was considered an imbalance of thehumorsuntil the mid 1800s.[6]
References
[edit]- ^Hausenblas, Heather (18 August 2014)."Does Physical Activity Show Signs of a Tomato Effect?".U.S. News & World Report.Retrieved15 November2014.
- ^abcGoodwin, James S. (11 May 1984). "The Tomato Effect".JAMA.251(18): 2387.doi:10.1001/jama.1984.03340420053025.
- ^Trowbridge, John Parks (2011).The Yeast Syndrome.Random House. p. 87.ISBN978-0-307-79358-4.
- ^Prasad V, Cifu A (December 2011)."Medical reversal: why we must raise the bar before adopting new technologies".Yale J Biol Med.84(4): 471–8.PMC3238324.PMID22180684.
- ^Bartholomew, M (2002-11-01)."James Lind's Treatise of the Scurvy (1753)".Postgraduate Medical Journal.78(925): 695–696.doi:10.1136/pmj.78.925.695.ISSN0032-5473.PMC1742547.PMID12496338.
- ^Jason, Mayberry (2004-01-01)."Scurvy and Vitamin C".dash.harvard.edu.Retrieved2015-10-16.
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