Tapeworm
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Just another weight loss gimmick...
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Just another weight loss gimmick...
If Laura Hillenbrand's book about Seabiscuit has any truth in it, this was a common practice in jockeys.
“For jockeys who were truly desperate, there was one last resort. Contact the right people, and you could get hold of a special capsule, a simple pill guaranteed to take off all the weight you wanted. In it was the egg of a tapeworm. Within a short while the parasite would attach to a man’s intestines and slowly suck the nutrients out of him. The pounds would peel away like magic. When the host jockey became too malnourished, he could check into a hospital to have the worm removed, then return to the track and swallow a new pill. ”
Excerpt From
Seabiscuit: an American legend
Laura Hillenbrand -
The pills were sold OTC in the late 1800's, early 1900's, IIRC.
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