Do Nightshades Promote Inflammation?
Photo courtesy of Museums.org.za
A few days ago I promised a post on nightshades in the comments, so here goes. First, we need to define what a nightshade is. Nightshades are any plant from the family Solanaceae. We are namely interested in two genera: Capsicum and Solanum, or the pepper genus and tomato/eggplant/potato genus respectively. It should also be noted that another genus, Nicotiana (tobacco), is in the nightshade family.
Ok, so we’re dealing with tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and peppers (of all sorts except peppercorns), along with goji berries and gooseberries. Dr. Garrett Smith has written three articles on the nightshade vegetables and their effects in the past few months of the Performance Menu (Issues 33, 35, and 36), with at least one more to come. If you’re a subscriber, you’ve probably read them. If not, you should download one of these issues for free to get a taste of the journal. And in the interest of not disclosing all of what’s in journal articles that I didn’t write, I’m only going to skim the surface.
So what problems do they cause? Tomatoes and eggplants were originally used as ornamentals rather than as food as they were considered poisonous. One of the major problems attributed to nightshades is arthritis, a disease which affects most of the population at some point in their life. Dr. Smith’s first article, in Issue 33, ran down an impressive list of animal studies showing calcinosis (the animal version of osteoarthritis) in rats, sheep, rabbits, chicks, and guinea pigs. They aren’t humans, but it is multiple mammalian species undergoing the same process. Further, all food nightshades contain some level of nicotine, the addictive chemical found in tobacco, which could explain why hot stuff is so addictive (to go with the endorphin release to counter the pain). Apparently dietary nicotine can inhibit wound healing above extremely small doses.
The article in Issue 36 is just downright damning of the hot peppers. There is the very good point that these peppers are the only food we eat that cause us pain and that pain is typically interpreted as a bad thing. There’s also some information on capsaicin and its inhibitory effects on the healing process. As I said, I just wanted to skim the surface of Dr. Smith’s articles as it’s not my place to go through them in-depth, giving away information for free. I encourage you to do some research and check out the articles in the Performance Menu. Off the top, we’ve already just looked at the nightshades and their effects on arthritis and the numerous effects they have on the wound healing process. I think the next article in the series is going to discuss epidemiological evidence of nightshade effects in populations that eat a lot of them.
Now for a bit of personal experience. When I first changed my eating habits for the better a few years back, I started incorporating lots of salads (still do, but that’s beside the point). One to two salads per day, each with tomatoes and green peppers. Along with that, I was just learning to cook and wasn’t a big fan of vegetables yet, so I was dousing them and meat with lots of hot sauce. As you can see, I was incorporating lots of nightshades into my diet. At that level of consumption, I started getting all kinds of popping in my joints, especially in my back and even in my sternum. It wasn’t painful, but that I could pop pretty much anything at will was disconcerting. At the time I had no idea about nightshades, so I just kept munching along with no idea of the cause, figuring that since there wasn’t any pain, it was benign
Later, Dr. Smith started talking about nightshades on the CrossFit forum and I decided to try cutting back. I cut out the tomatoes and peppers from my salads and cut back on the hot sauce. Lo and behold, the popping in my back and sternum went away. But here’s the fun part…I had shoulder surgery last June after two more dislocations. I now have “a bum stick”. Well, you know how people that have bad ankles and knees say they can feel barometric changes? I now have a gauge of whether I’ve overdone it on the nightshades. Since the nightshade vegetables tend to promote inflammation, I can feel it acutely in my shoulder joint, particularly when exercising, but there will also be a constant dull ache. It feels like I have small air or fluid pockets under the ball of the humerus. And one week, light exercise will irritate it if I’ve been overdoing the nightshades, while the next I can do max deadlifts, squats (puts the shoulder in a tight position), presses, or anything else with no intra-joint pain if I’ve been laying off the nightshades. That’s all the proof I need.
So can I say without a doubt that nightshades are bad for everyone? No. I’m not bold enough to make such a statement. I will say that everyone should try going a month without them to see if it has any effect on how they recover from exercise, how their arthritis feels, and how they feel in general. Then, as Dr. Smith says, have a nightshade festival. Eat nightshades to your heart’s content and see how you feel for the next few days. I have a feeling that these foods affect everyone to some degree. I know that I can include a little with no ill effects, but need to watch overdoing it. I’m working to completely exclude them from my diet.
Experimenting on yourself is really the only way to know what does and doesn’t affect you. I also think there’s something to the notion of eating seasonally here. Peppers and the like aren’t year-round foods in nature, though our modern supermarkets and global distribution systems allow you to eat nightshades without ever taking a break from them. Robb Wolf introduced us geeks to the concept of hormesis a while back. This is the “generally-favorable biological responses to low exposures to toxins and other stressors. A pollutant or toxin showing hormesis thus has the opposite effect in small doses than in large doses.” Perhaps the elements in nightshades, such as capsaicin, have a positive effect at low doses, but a harmful effect at high doses. Perhaps eating plenty of peppers and tomatoes during the summer/fall harvest and then not at all during the winter and spring is not harmful.
Another source of information is the Arthritis Nightshades Research Foundation. It’s all very unfortunate since a fresh-made salsa could be one of nature’s greatest gifts to man. But besides the obvious foods like tomato sauce and salsa, you also have to watch for paprika (made from dried peppers), which is in most prepared mustards, many seasoning rubs, and the seasoning mixes of pre-made sausages and bacon. It can get tough with store-bought foods. I’m not telling you what to eat and what not to, but I am saying to give it some consideration and try an elimination on yourself.
40 Reader Comments
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I’m glad to see this post. I can’t say for sure that I felt better for the many years when nightshades weren’t part of my diet…..and I can’t say I felt any worse when I started eating tomatoes again a week or so ago.
That said…why taunt a tiger? Today I decided to eliminate tomatoes from my diet again.
For everyone else who takes you and the Dr. up on the challenge of going nightshade free for a month…..you’ll be amazed how easy it is to give up eggplant….but you’ll likely be equally amazed how hard it is to find anything pre-cooked that doesn’t include at least one of the culprits (nightshades). That’s not altogether a bad thing….since your one month test will force you to avoid just about anything pre-processed….cool, eh?
Scott….I must admit, part of me was hoping you’d find some scientific evidence for exempting tomatoes from the bad list….lol!! Just as well, however…..they’re gone for me once and for all. Please….please….just don’t write a post on the evils of lettuce, k?
CHEERS!
David
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Very interesting. I hate some stomach problems, which were diagnosed as IBS and GERD. I had bloating, acid reflux, etc. Switching to the paleo diet made a difference, but the bloating would not go away. By process of elimination, I found that bland foods didn’t cause the problem. I guess it was a coincidence that they didn’t contain nightshades, but now I see a connection. I can tolerate them once a week or so, but when I was eating them a lot it was awful.
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Scott, nice summary and personal experience piece!
Melissa, potatoes have been directly shown to increase symptoms of IBS (just Pubmed IBS and potato), and most of us know many people who get GERD or colitis (aka “burning butt”) from spicy peppers. I’ll definitely be covering the rest of the pepper issue in the next PMenu as Scott mentioned and I’ll cover potatoes in their own issue in the future.
Scott, awesome blog. You have inspired me to restart real work on my own!
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Thank you for this post, I just learned a lot of things I never knew. I’m actually munching on a salad that’s got six tiny tomatoes & half of an orange bell pepper right now. I really adore them, especially bell peppers, and those are the only two nightshade foods I eat with any regularity.
I hate the thought of eliminating them, they’re the main source of color in my salads. But perhaps somewhere on down the road, once I have a really good handle on eating the paleo way, I will try to take a break from them & see if it makes a difference. For now though, babysteps.
Thanks for giving me something to add to all of the other new info I’ve been absorbing. Perhaps after letting it knock around in my brain for awhile I’ll come back to it and find the time is right to give them up.
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Hey Scott, thanks for the article. This nightshade business I also know to be true as I cut them out eons ago! Now for more nightshade free recipes!
Of note, I was hanging out with a rheumatologist friend from SanDiego last night and we were talking nightshades and all. He said he sees a tremendous difference with his patients when they eliminate these products along with in his words–the number #1 culprit in many Americans–TOBACCO! But I highly doubt anyone here is still a smoker….
Heather, as for color in your salads, how about some red onion or red radish! You could also chop some cauliflower or even add a few pomegranate seeds!
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Melissa, thanks for the personal anecdote. It seems that everyone benefits from cutting way back on nightshades.
Dr. G, good to see you here! You should definitely start back up on your blog…you’re a wealth of knowledge and there’s not enough good information out there. Even if you did call me out in the last nightshades article.
Heather, if you’re just starting Paleo eating, I’d not be too concerned with the nightshades. My opinion is that the sugar, grain, and dairy (at least pasteurized dairy) are more detrimental than the nightshades. Sarena has some good ideas for adding color to your salads however, so you may want to consider some of them. You can also use grapes, oranges, and apples in salads to add some color. And don’t forget carrots. Baby steps are good…Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Sarena, good stuff on the other vegetables to add color.
Cheers all
Scott
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David, Sorry, missed your comment earlier (it went to spam for some reason, but I’ve resurrected it). I concur on how easy it is to give up eggplant….I think it’s a rather spongy and not altogether tasty vegetable and never really ate it to begin with. Those are the easiest foods to get rid of.
I wasn’t happy to hear/experience all of this either. I’m a lover of hot things…a “the hotter the better, if I can still taste it, it’s not hot enough” type of guy. But I’m getting over that and now appreciate a diversity of tastes that are non-nightshade. Horseradish makes a good substitution, though the “heat” is different. Unless you get ridiculous with it, it can be incorporated into a dish very easily. I think we’re safe on the lettuce for now though.
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Thanks Scotty,
I actually made an awesome salad yesterday for company with whatever was on hand. I used baby spinach, chopped red onion, chunks of avocado, sliced radish, sliced organic natural black olives, chopped asian pear, some ground flaxseed and some chopped pecans with a homemade balsamic vinagrette. It was devoured!
I love the smooth flavor of the avocado in salad (besides its great fat status!) along with the contrast of onion and radish. To me, some nuts add a nice crunch and here that crunch was paired with the asian pear. Pomegranate seeds works along the same vein!
I really never use recipes for salad; just using what’s in the house! I never really go wrong!
Scotty, what are your thoughts on using hearts of palm and/or artichoke hearts or bottoms on occas (either canned or jarred? I assume jarred are better if not in some weird sauce)
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Hey Scott….I think it’s my email address that gets flagged as “spam”….likely do to the first four letters of it. Sort of ironic, eh?
Regarding spicy food and nightshades, after having read that spicy food boosts the metabolism, for years I was on a “must have mucho, mucho jalapenos with every meal!!!” kick. Even now, however, after giving up (and most recently re-giving up) nightshades….I have read that black pepper is OK. My question for you is….do you still pour on the black pepper….or use any at all….and if not, is there a pro-nutritional reason why? Any reason that horseradish is better or worse than black pepper?
Thank you again for a great nightshade post!
CHEERS!
David
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Sarena, That salad sounds great. I also love avocado. It goes great with nearly everything…grill a steak and slice avocado over it, chicken and avocado, salad and avocado. I don’t really know anything bad about hearts of palm or artichokes, so off the top of my head, I can’t say I would stay away from them. Perhaps someone else has some input, but I’d say eat up.
David, It must be your email because you went into the bucket again. Oh well…I’ll just keep fishing you out. Black pepper is heavily used in my household. It isn’t a nightshade. I wrote about black pepper in my article on Herbs and Spices which you can find here. I don’t know if horseradish or black pepper is better or if it’s really a matter of better/worse rather than just different. A quick search found me an article that mentions horseradish having some of the same properties as mustard, which you’ll also find in that Herbs and Spices article. I say…use both!
Cheers
Scott
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Scotty,
I was thinking maybe an article on nuts and seeds, best for you , allergy properties etc….
Maybe doing a whole piece of a series about fats…
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Sarena, thank you for the tips! I have always had a problem eating uncooked onions, just too intense for me. I’m trying to get over that (and my dislike of mushrooms) because I’d like to eat them more often. Never been a fan of radishes, though I may give them another whirl and see what I think.
I do love cauliflower, lightly sauteed. I might start tossing that into salad now… I’m all stocked up on pomegranates, those I eat by the spoonful alone, but I’ll try some in a salad.
Scott, thanks for the advice, and thanks for your recent posts about easing into all of this. I had spent the past several months really studying as much as I could, trying to piece it all together, having good days and then slipping into bad habits. Your posts made me realize that it was ok to breathe & just do a few simple things instead of trying to overhaul every inch of my diet.
Last January I made a decision to “be healthier”, and over the year I think I made a lot of progress overall. I’ve got a handle on how it all fits, so now is the time to really implement it in a meaningful way, even if that means mastering one thing before moving to the next. I didn’t learn my bad habits in a year, it will take more than a year to unlearn them, but as long as I’m trying that’s better than I was.
Anyways, sorry to ramble, I just find your blog really inspiring and helpful. I’m sure I’ll get to a point where I feel like I’ve got more control over my diet and then I’ll be able to do the more technical tweaking, like eliminating nightshades, intermittent fasting, and eating seasonally. Thanks again for the frequent posts, they really do help keep me on track.
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Informative article Scott. I’ve heard you mention nightshades before on other blogs in the comments, but didn’t bother to look it up. Now I know. I had no idea that peppers and tomatoes, things I’ve always considered healthy, could not be.
You do indicate that it may not bother some, but I guess my real question is should I cut them out? Or just try the experiment. Do the benefits (nutrients) outweigh the concerns if the effects you mentioned are not noticeable? Could these effects somehow be neutralized through cooking (like tomato based sauces)?
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Joe, I’m not sure if you can neutralize the effects of these properties of nightshades, especially the nicotine. Think about the heat nicotine undergoes in a cigarette and you’ll understand why I wouldn’t think you could “cook it out”.
As for not bothering some, I side with Dr. Smith on this. It probably effects everyone, but to varying degrees. As he said in one of the articles (paraphrase), “we all know people that can eat sugar for years with no apparent ill effects, but the damage is being done.” I’d say try an elimination and see how you feel when you throw them back in.
Nutrition benefits vs concerns…the nutritional benefits of nightshades is why I put them higher on the list than dairy, grains, and sugar. We can slice and dice it all day long, but I think if those big three are eliminated, the major concerns are gone. I’d consider cutting back/eliminating nightshades to be a secondary goal, though a noble one nonetheless.
Hope that helps
Scott
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[...] Modern Forager: Do Nightshades Promote Inflammation? [...]
Very interesting and I’m going to give it a try to see how my own shoulder recovery responds.
Also, there is a lot of anecdotal information regarding hot pepper as a folk remedy for all sorts of ailments. How does that relate to this new info?
Thanks!
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All of your comments are very interesting. Yesterday I just started researching nightshade vegetables, and I am in shock that never before have I read about possibilities of pain and arthritis from nightshades. Now I am wondering why so many seem to be have knee replacements nowadays. Have any of you seen any info relating to improving knee and hip problems by eliminating nightshades? And gout can also be caused by nightshades I read yesterday.
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Well, I think your are right on. It is well proven that the toxin solanine in nightshades cause cell disruption which leads to prolonged wound healing. It is this effect that led me to research the nightshades in the first place as they were causing me horrible intestinal pain to the point of bleeding. Now, that I have completely eliminated them from my diet, digestion is at it’s peak.
As to the folk remedies with red pepper, capsicum in th peppers do indeed block pain. Nightshades are a vital source of pain killers such as atropine. But that does not warrant their direct ingestion.
Cheers!!
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wonder if this will increase the ammount of muscle gains during next months steroid cycle?
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Stumbled across your site in my search for pasta sauces without tomatoes. I have been nightshade free for a year now after being diagnosed by my naturopath. Feel so much better. I can have the odd nightshade in a meal but as soon as I tried introducing tomatoes in spag. bolognaise I could feel the change. Not worth it! I now use tinned plums to replace tomatoes in casseroles but if anyone has any suggestions for tomatoe free sauces for pasta/pizza I would appreciate it.
Thanks.
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i just ate 4 whole tomatoes and a red pepper while i read this.
say it isn’t so.
they’ve taken my favorite salad flavorizer!
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Thanks for this blog. I’ve had lingering pain in my elbows (mostly my left elbow) after overdoing progressions on pull-ups about 8 months ago. I’ve been waiting for it to go away for months. It did seem to be going away, but just sooo slowly.
Normally, bell peppers and some tomato products are a big part of my diet (maybe 2-5 whole bell peppers per week), but I eliminated them for a week. One week later, I was able to do pull-ups with no pain in my elbow. I’m taking it easy building up this time – but hopefully this time if I overdo it it won’t take a half-year to recover from a minor injury.
Granted, the placebo force may be strong with me in this instance – but that was my experience with the self-experimentation. It’s interesting that I always found tomatoes to have an unpleasant taste (the strong acid in the juice), but ate them because “they’re good for you”.
So what about lycopene? Is that just a marketing gimmick or are there other sources of it?
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NOOOOOOOOO!!!! Whats left if not for the nightshades.
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Nightshades?
What’s next?
Some of these so called nutrition “experts” are also now advising that we shouldn’t eat too much n-3 rich fish or fish oil (including the deep water variety), nor too much protein, nor any fats, nor any salt, nor any legumes, nor any nuts, nor any seeds, nor any grains (whether whole, bran, or germ), nor any dairy (including raw), nor any red meat (including grass-fed), nor any of the many other things that they say have anti-nutrients, or are inflammatory, toxic, or – gasp – DEADLY.
I got it… what if we all stopped ingesting everything but locally grown, certified organic lettuce and artesian well mountain spring water and see how well we all do with that. (At least until some “expert” declares that they too are somehow bad for our human consumption.)
:::rolls eyes:::
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Paul, it’s unfortunate, but the science is there. As is the proof of many that drop the nightshades and see their joint pains go away (yours truly included). I think you’re running down a major slippery slope there.
Cheers
Scott
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Hi Paul,
It’s true that everyone and their dog is saying some kind of food will kill us, or save us from everything. Yet, we all know that nicotine found in the nightshade family tobacco is harmful. Well, that nicotine is in all of the other nightshades as well, in differing amounts. Solanine is also found in nightshades, and is used as plant pesticide when ground into dust. In my book are hundreds of citations to real and tested evidence of neurotoxins that are contained in the nightshades. Nightshades were nearly the death of me. They affect thousands of people in negative ways, that many are unaware of. Only 40-50 years ago people were “rolling their eyes” at those who warned against nicotine.
However, now days you have every right to be skeptical about such claims.
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Dear Scott,
Your reply to Paul on December 19th is interesting…I’ve recently adopted an anit-inflammatory diet (no dairy, wheat, corn, sugar, processed foods, fried foods, or potatoes and tomatoes) and am seeking to learn more about it. I’ve been looking on the web for the science behind nightshade foods causing inflammation and haven’t yet found it.
I’m familiar with the anecdotal evidence and don’t doubt it. I’m seeking to support the anecdotal with the scientific–and not a study sponsored by someone with a product to sell.
I’ve been to the Arthritis Nightshades Research Foundation and have carefully read Dr Childer’s information. His “scientific” results are all anecdotal. Also, unfortunately, he did not separate the effects of tobacco consumption from those of nightshade food consumption.
I’ve not read Michael Fowler’s book, but will definitely check it out. And, I tried the link on this page to Dr Smith’s article and received a connectivity error.
Can you direct me to science on inflammation and nightshade foods?
Thank you,
Christina
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One has to wonder about other cultures who eat a tremendous amount of these nightshade plants and have good health. Italians and Latinos for instance.
I imagine there is some other food that cancels out these ill effects. Perhaps the avocado or olive oil?
One thing I have noticed, and I eat alot of these foods, is that when I’m being a good raw foodist, I crave tobacco much less. Still a smoker.
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Christina, the best research I’ve seen was done by Dr. Garrett Smith in his five-part series on nightshades in the Performance Menu. Unfortunately, I can’t give it away as the PM sells back issues, but they are available here. Beyond that, the best research is dumping the nightshades and seeing how it affects you or searching PubMed.
Manyfeathers, Dr. Smith dedicated one of his five-part series to South American cultures that eat lots of peppers and tomatoes. Studies that he pulled from PubMed showed an increase in cancers of the digestive tract. Animal studies have also shown some interesting things.
Cheers
Scott
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Greetings,
Manyfeathers, none of the research that I examined mentions any canceling effect of other foods, since the toxins in nightshades are tropane alkaloids, as is caffeine, and cocaine, they are not converted by any of the bodies processes. Like other neuro-toxins the body can build up a tolerance and likewise builds up an addiction. Solanine is very close in chemical structure to nicotine and both come from nightshades. I hate to dash any of your hopes, but to think of canceling effects, one think of food that would cancel the effects of nicotine–this seems remote to me.
Christina, there is not a great deal of research on nightshades as of yet. You will find quite a bit in my book, and on PubMed. Enough has been done to determine that nightshade toxins do have a real affects upon humans, and eating nightshades as a staple food should be reconsidered. However, causal or true experimental testing on humans is going to be very rare, however rabbits and other creatures have given their lives to show us the toxic qualities of nightshades, and we might want to consider that evidence as it relates to us.
Hope this helps,
Michael Fowler
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Michael , Scott,
I certainly agree that eating nightshades should be reconsidered. In my case not for arthritic / joint pain but for the impact it had on my hearing, vision, and touch. I was also getting daily muscle spasms as a result.
It was only through eliminating tomatoes , chillis etc for reasons of breastfeeding ( my baby would scream for hours after I had eaten them) that I discovered what had made me sick for so long. I have reintroduced them just to test the theory and I have no doubt in my mind that nightshades are the cause.
I look through the internet regularly to find out further information on nightshades. I find there is quite a bit of info on arthritis but would love to find info on other impacts of nightshades – can you direct me anywhere?
Kind regards
Nicky
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Hi Nicky,
Your’s is the second story I have heard of baby’s being in pain from breast milk, when the mother ingests nightshades. Nightshades cause a host of problems other than joint issues. Here is the list of ones that I was able to find. Solanine is known to cause problems with vision as you say by creating occular pressure (inside the eyeball). So you are correct in your thinking that nightshades were the cause of many different symptoms. Hope this helps. PubMed is a good source if you like reading medical reports.
http://www.nightshadefree.com/table-of-contents/
Part III: Symptoms and Effects of Nightshades 117
Arthritis 119
Appendicitis 121
Alzheimer’s 123
Birth Defects and Miscarriages 126
Cancer 135
Chronic Fatigue. 140
Depression. 141
Endocrine System Dysfunctions 142
Eczema, Gout and Allergies 143
Food Poisoning. 143
Intestinal Disorders 145
Liver Toxins 149
Memory. 150
Mental Dysfunctions 152
Mental Development and Schizophrenia. 153
Migraine Headaches 156
Overeating and Malnourishment 158
Parkinson’s Disease. 159
Polio (remittent fever) 160
Osteoporosis, Rickets, and Vitamin D.. 160
Wheat and Dairy Allergies
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I find this discussion very interesting. I have rheumatoid arthritis and take medications for it. Today I spoke to a holistic health practitioner and natural foods chef and she recommeded eliminating nightshades from my diet. I stumbled on your article while researching this. My husband is very analytical and wants to know the science behind everything. The first thing he said was “I thought your arthritis was well-controlled.” It is but I am always interested in feeing better. There is also fatigue that goes along with arthritis. The second thing he said was that it’s ludicrous to take out a whole class of vegetables that are healthy. So my research continues… It is always easier to experiment on yourself when you are only cooking for yourself alone!
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Helen, the best combination of research into nightshades I’ve seen was Dr. Smith’s 5-part series in The Performance Menu. You can purchase the back issues for $5 with those articles in them here.
We have no affiliation with The Performance Menu or Catalyst Athletics other than being friends. No kickbacks or anything for me sending you their way. It’s $25 to get all 5 issues, so you’ll have to decide if it’s worth it.
And yes, much easier to experiment when you’re only cooking for yourself. I would argue though that if these vegetables are causing inflammation, are they really healthy?
Cheers
Scott
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Helen,
Scott is right if something is causing harm, then it is not good for you, as your husband asserts. First, those who appeal to science for every little thing, generally have no science to support that eating nightshade is harmless, that solanine, found in nightshades, is harmless, that nicotine found is nightshades is harmless. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that nightshade cause harm to mammals, from rickets to miscarriages. We must generalize those effects on mammals to human as we cannot experiment on humans. This is how it was determined that nicotine was harmful, by using animal studies.
If your husband demands evidence then let him prove himself of being reasonable by allowing you to perform an experiment on yourself. Avoid nightshades for two months and see if you get better. All real scientists perform experiments and except the results. You do not need to buy anything; all that is needed is the removal of nightshades to test your hypothesis: are nightshades causing my arthritis?
Be sure to avoid modified food starch (potatoes), gogi berries (nightshade), artichokes (solanine), and commercial breads that stay soft for days as they use potato water to make them last longer. That should do it. Most people find relief within a few days that gradually gets better with time, and you make find you have a sharp reaction if you eat nightshades unawares. Also, avoid commercial deep fat fried food as they cook potatoes in this oil which then contaminates anything else cooked in it with solanine.
Hope this helps!
Michael Fowler
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Sadness! “Tomato” was the second word I ever spoke, right after “ham.” On the bright side, I’ve always been envious that smokers get all the outdoors time in thename of cigarette breaks; maybe now I can get a few minutes in the sun to indulge a “nightshade” fit.
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tedyunger Reply:
you get a break right? well then go outside. you dont have to smoke to go outside. smokers go out when its break time. i dont understand you people who think smokers are going out any more than you do. its break time its break time you dont want to go then dont.geesh lady. get a life.
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Scott, Helen,
I get joint pain and migraines, seemingly worse after having chili (with peppers, chiles and tomatoes!) I just downloaded the whole 5 part nightshade “collection” as it is called for $5.00, not $5.00 per section. A great deal IMHO. Can’t wait to read it.
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Hi,
Very helpful information. I love your site and will spread the word of health and wellness. I am a cancer survivor and know how important it is to safe healthy. Our health id our greatest asset.
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Very good information. I learned a lot from your website.
I am a cancer survivor and know how important good health is. Our health is our greatest asset.
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As I sit here in excruciating pain from a week long home grown tomato binge, I can say without a doubt that it does indeed have an affect on arthritic inflammation. Due to too many crash landings off of horses and ATVs in my younger (and dumber years), at the ripe old age of 45, my joints are like those of someone twice my age. I think I’ll be giving away a lot of tomatoes in the next few days.
I’d like to add that I found this writing to be very informative, as I was not aware of the influence of peppers (duh), and living in south Louisiana, we’re rather generous with the tobasco and peppers…dietary reform school, here I come.
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