The THROWBACK LAXATIVE: The Story of Swiss Kriss and " Satchmo", Louis Armstrong

Michelle Edmonds, M.A., M.Ed.
Author|Co-Founder|LIFE COACH, Serenity Weight Loss and Detoxification Program

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Louis Armstrong controlled his weight by using laxatives and even published a book entitled “Lose Weight the Satchmo Way”

Louis Armstrong, popularly known as “Satchmo” or “Pops”, was one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20^th century; his impact on the development of various styles of jazz was immense.

His extremely prolific and versatile career lasted for over five decades; although he was primarily known as a trumpeter, singer, and composer, he also appeared in a number of movies and even wrote several books.

Louis Armstrong in 1953.

One of the books Armstrong published was called Lose Weight the Satchmo Way. He was always worried about his health and he considered his weight to be the biggest source of his health problems. Food was one of his greatest pleasures; he even dedicated several songs to his favorite dishes, but he needed a way to balance his diet. Lose Weight the Satchmo Way was a series of various diet plans; they included different techniques for healthy and enjoyable weight loss, and one thing that they all had in common was laxatives.

Initially, Swiss Kriss was called Swiss Krissly. It is important to say that he tagged himself as the unofficial spokesperson of this product and he voluntarily promoted this photo

Armstrong was a big fan of laxatives; he used them in combination with a variety of other food supplements to control his weight. At first, his favorite laxative was “Pluto Water”, a type of mineral water that contained several natural laxatives, but he later switched to a herbal remedy called “Swiss Kriss”.

Antique bottle of Pluto Water. 

In fact, his initial favorite laxative was officially banned in 1971 because it contained lithium, which was a controlled substance used for the treatment of various psychoses!!!

Pluto Water newspaper advertisement from 1918.

Armstrong was so convinced of the remedial properties of natural laxatives that he often gave bottles of them to his friends as presents. He also propagated his laxative-based diet in the media, and he produced a series of humorous flyers that depicted himself sitting on the toilet with a content smile on his face. He reportedly even elaborated his love of laxatives to the members of the British Royal family when he was their guest during his 1956 Great Britain tour.