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The Nightshade Family!

Astra

Moderator
Hi Everyone

had a bit of a do today with someone! she had a go at me for eating potatoes, which is part of my low res diet.
she mentioned the nightshade family, so I googled it, and here's what I found! I didn't know this, but might consider eliminating potatoes from my diet, don't eat tomatoes anyway!
Has anyone got any thoughts about this?

http://www.nightshadefree.com/sweet-potatoes-rather-than-potatoes/

xxxx
 
omg!

why isn't this information more widely known?? we are eating toxic foods in our typical diets.... i eat potatoes, peppers, tomatoes!

It is reported that nightshades contain high levels of alkaloids which cause the bones to excrete calcium, other minerals, and trace elements from the body.

White potatoes contain solanine, which has been shown to cause a very toxic effect in susceptible people, contributing to arthritis, calcium depletion, and stiff joints, as well as painful wrists, ankles, and knees. In his book Poisonous Plants of the United States and Canada, John Kingsbury documented that when solanine was eaten in large amounts by either humans or livestock, death was the outcome. When calcium is depleted from the body by potatoes, nervousness and sleeplessness may result because calcium is our natural tranquilizer. Solanine from potatoes accumulates in the body and the harmful effects may take years to appear in those who have sensitivity
.


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KWZ/is_5_4/ai_111734421/
 

Cat-a-Tonic

Super Moderator
I eat potatoes and tomatoes too! Oh no, I don't want to give up some of the few foods I can actually eat. Eventually I'm going to only eat bananas and Ensures...

I'm curious now, has anyone tried giving up these things and seen an improvement?
 
The key is the phrase "very toxic effect in susceptible people".

I am guessing most of us do not fall in that category. I have no problems with any of the night shade family of foods.

I would not worry about it, unless your entire diet consists of these foods, or you have reactions to them. Usually the diet is balanced with other foods that offset any particular bad quality of another.

Dan
 
All you should do is avoid eating potatoes that have gone green under the skin, like you have (probably) been told not to since you were knee high to a grasshopper... otherwise we'd all be dead by now... no?

Alternatively someone by the book... and then we can all find out.
 

Astra

Moderator
I think this sounds true Dan, but this is still a bit worrying tho isn't it?
I'd never heard of this until today, is this just scare mongering again? Is it just another ruse to get us to buy another bloody book?
I'm gonna do some more research about this, if it's true then I won't eat potatoes, if it means no more joint pain and neuralgia etc, I'm gonna try it!
xxx
 

Astra

Moderator
All you should do is avoid eating potatoes that have gone green under the skin, like you have (probably) been told not to since you were knee high to a grasshopper... otherwise we'd all be dead by now... no?

Alternatively someone by the book... and then we can all find out.

ha ha Beth!
Bagsy not buying it! My shelves are groaning with books like this!
But you're right about the green bits on spuds! Something I've always been warned about!
xxx
 

Cat-a-Tonic

Super Moderator
Let us know what you find out, Joan! I'm very curious about all this now. Hopefully Dan is right and we've got nothing to worry about.
 
Huh, so I'm supposed to give up potatoes (which cause me no observable problems provided they are well cooked) and eat sweet potatoes (which give me gas and pains) instead?

Astra- by all means try it, you shouldn't need to buy the book, a bit of digging should work out which foods to avoid. But I reckon I'll pass!
 
I think they are over stating the problem, but if I had Arthritis pain, I would cut back on these foods. I eat them and have no such pain. You may be sensitive to these foods or eat to much of them. The original problem of Arthritis can be aggravated by foods, but it is not the cause of the condition.

It would not hurt to cut them out and see if it helps. There are also many anti-inflammatory foods that you could add in to replace them.

Most of the information concerning the night shade group of foods is readily available on the net. Another food that can be bad for Crohn's is red beans and rice, if it is under cooked. They contain a natural insecticide which is hard on the intestinal lining. I eat both without any problem, but they are fully cooked.

http://www.physorg.com/news105176803.html

Dan
 

Crohn's 35

Inactive Account
Just to add, I went to a Natural path and was on the no shade diet but still can figure out Yams (sweet potato to some of you) is permitted yet it is in the ground. I is supposed to be better for you but isnt that an contradiction?
 
It's odd because sweet potatoes bother me but regular potatoes don't which seems to be the opposite of this. I personally have stopped believing most of this stuff and dismiss it all as fads - unless I see numerous scientific studies that show something is a fact - I go with what works for me.
 
I agree with MapleLeafGirl that diet is very specific. There is no one diet for all people. I do well on a high protein diet, but my wife does not.

I do not believe anything concerning diet that can be applied to all people, other than everyone should eat real food traditionally eaten by humans. The less processing, additives, etc, the better. Man made sweeteners, genetically engineered, and any other laboratory food should be minimized.

They may or may not be harmful, but the fact is our bodies have not had to deal with these foreign molecular combination's in the past. Our bodies may not deal with them well, and we have no way of knowing that for certain. There are no long term testing of these products, and I prefer not to be an involuntary lab rat.

Eat real food, and eat they way that agrees with you. It is pretty much that simple.

Dan
 

Crohn's 35

Inactive Account
I agree, sometimes my diet becomes boring, but my husband is a major meat eater, and he knows beef and pork dont sit well, except lean hamburger in my spaghetti sauce, which is drained very well. I can't digest fats, oil, and or milk so I avoid them, if I want pain...well eat wrong for my body that will do it. Healthy bodies also feed healthy minds. Funny how one time you can eat something and the next time, NOT. So I agree you eat how your body reacts, keep a diary if you have bad memory...like mine ;)
 
I think most women do not crave a high protein diet, because they do not have as much muscle mass to maintain. My wife eats like a rabbit, salads, lots of veggies. I would starve to death if I ate like her.

I do eat some vegetables and fruit, just because it has nutrients that I also need, but they are not staples.

Milk and many Milk products do not agree with me, so I stay away from them.

Dan
 
It's not so bad. I'm highly allergic to any foods from the Nightshade Family.

It's shocking how many of your favorite things contain those products but I have found alternatives and have now been not eating those foods for almost a year.

It started out as a skin rashes, then became anaphylactic (sp?)
 

Silvermoon

Moderator
The key is the phrase "very toxic effect in susceptible people".

I am guessing most of us do not fall in that category. I have no problems with any of the night shade family of foods.

I would not worry about it, unless your entire diet consists of these foods, or you have reactions to them. Usually the diet is balanced with other foods that offset any particular bad quality of another.

Dan
I agree with Dan... too much of any ONE thing is going to be bad for a person...it all needs to be taken into perspective...

If you read further into the article that dingbat psoted the link to, you find THIS information:

Extreme foods have extreme effects. In macrobiotic terminology, potatoes and tomatoes are extremely yin and expansive. Animal protein is heavy, salty, and yang. Therefore, potatoes help balance the salt and protein of meat. Tomatoes, which are astringent and acidic, assist in the digestion and discharge of dairy products and help counterbalance the greasy query of the fatty, over salted cheese

So a lot of it depends on what else is in your diet....

Very interesting topic though!! :) :) :)
 

Silvermoon

Moderator
Just to add, I went to a Natural path and was on the no shade diet but still can figure out Yams (sweet potato to some of you) is permitted yet it is in the ground. I is supposed to be better for you but isnt that an contradiction?
A "sweet" potato (or yam) is from a different family... it's a "tuber" but not necessarily a "potato".....

Tomatoes, white potatoes, red and green bell peppers, the "hot" peppers such as chili and paprika, as well as eggplant belong to the Nightshade Family, a botanical genus called Solanaceae species.(from the article dingbat posted above).
 
I don't know guys. I don't eat any foods from the Nightshade family and I'm not pain/migraine/bowel free! I think it's a crock but maybe it's one of those "works for some but not for others"?

*shrugs*
 

vonfunk

Bourbon Bandito
Location
Toronto,
As a person who's job is basically buying books, be cautious of any book touting advice that is only available on the internet, and where the publishing company only produces one thing.
Almost all of them are frauds. Any legitimate advice in book format would have been bought by a major publisher. and would have more than a half a sentence blurb from a recognized medical source, which by the way due to the fact that the words "without nightshades" are in brackets show that it wasn't in the original quote.

While there is a chance it might be true, the author is a quack.
 
Plus growing up and even now, I've heard only good things about tomatoes, how beneficial they are in fighting cancers... I got fishy feeling when I read all about it, even from other sources. I would take this with a grain of salt.
 
A few years back when my partner was diagnosed with Ankalosying Spondylitis, the naturopath recommended eliminating nightshade vegetables/fruit. When I found out about the link between nightshades and inflammation, I thought that I should find out more, so I consulted a different naturopath as well as a nutritionist. I eliminated all nightshades for two months, and gradually reintroduced them to my diet. Weekly blood tests showed no shifts in inflammatory markers (CRP) between when I off nightshades and when I re-introduced them. I also did not see a shift in my symptoms. However, my singular experience does not necessarily suggest that others may have a sensitivity to nightshade family of veggies.

I do eat tomatoes, red peppers, and eggplant, but take the seeds out (where most of the solanine is harboured).

Sweet potato bothers me more than potatoes, and it might be because it's higher in fibre. As Silvermoon mentioned, potatoes and sweet potatoes are from two different botanical families.
 

ameslouise

Moderator
Eat real food, and eat they way that agrees with you. It is pretty much that simple.
Smart and simple advice. It can be really difficult to follow staying away from processed food, but it's worth it! I feel, and look, tons better when I am not eating processed food.

-Amy
 
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