This topic resurfaces often, so I thought I would dive into why a select amount of people believe that nightshades are “trigger foods”, or “anti-nutrient” foods, or “inflammatory” foods. If you listen to the “experts”, they will have you believe that Nightshades are a family of plants high in alkaloids and lectins. And if you go digging into ‘health and wellness’ advice on the Internet, you’ll sometimes come across health warnings about the nightshade family- people’s digestive issues and inflammatory conditions get blamed on the nightshade and “lecithin” rich foods instead of their overall dietary / lifestyle choices and current state of health.
The Nightshade vegetables make up a variety of healthy foods (and some not so healthy) of the Solanaceae plant family with over 2000 species including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, tobacco, and peppers. Those of us following the Natural Human diet naturally realize that not all the nightshades are edible or suitable for human consumption in their raw state such as tobacco, potato, and spicy peppers to name a few. When I speak of nightshades in this group, I’m referring to the nightshades that are suitable for consumption in their raw unprocessed form such as tomatoes and bell peppers.
Nightshades get their name because many like to grow in the shade, and flower at night. They contain alkaloid phytonutrients such as solanine in potatoes, tomatine in tomatoes, capsaicin in chili, and nicotine in tobacco.
Tomatoes contain large amounts of “solanine”or “tomatine” in the green leaves of the tomato plant which can cause poisoning if the leaves are eaten in quantity, but have only occurred very rarely. We are not attracted to eating the leaves, So don’t eat the leaves, our taste buds tell us not to eat the leaves!
Here’s an interesting piece I came across 👇
“Like all nightshades, eggplant contains a substance called solanine. In theory, if solanine is not destroyed in the intestine, it could be toxic. This is generally not an issue, but studies at the University of Florida’s Arthritis Nightshades Research, hypothesized that some people with osteoarthritis may not be able to destroy solanine in the gut, leading to solanine absorption and aggravating osteoarthritis. Though this has never been put to a strict clinical test, I believe that individual variations in metabolism and detoxification abilities account for many problems with foods and chemicals—some people can get rid of the problem compound just fine, others simply can’t. Proponents of the “solanine aggravates arthritis” theory claim you need to eliminate it for six months before potential benefit can be seen. I think this information is only applicable to a tiny number of people, but it’s worth knowing.” – Dr. Jonny Bowden
Dr. Johnny just reiterated that unhealthy individuals may have unhealthy reactions to healthy foods. There is no evidence that these vegetables cause inflammation and sensitivity. However, there are people that claim that eating tomatoes, peppers, or any nightshades cause inflammation in their body, or worsen their “autoimmune “ disorders.
So why would this be? Are we to discount real life testimony?
Absolutely not, but everything is explainable, and the truth is simple. If it’s over complicated and difficult to understand, chances are that it’s not rooted in the truth.
Consuming nightshades such as tomatoes or bell peppers in their raw, whole food form is not an issue for the average person. If someone is reacting, or experiencing unpleasant symptoms as a result, it’s generally indicative of a deeper root cause having to do with their current state of health. People also appear to react (allergic) to watermelon, mangos, strawberries and more, yet we are aware that it’s not the fruit’s fault, the watermelon is not toxic, it’s that individual’s current state of health. We often see that when these individuals heal, or clean up their diets, these “reactive” foods cease to be an issue because it wasn’t the food to begin with, it was them!!
When an individual experiences a reaction to a food that is healthy, and part of our natural diet, we tend to blame the food itself instead of that individual’s current state of health. There are people such as my mother who cannot tolerate any fruit at all, she takes a bite and feels awful, but it’s not the fruit’s fault, there is a deeper root cause. If she ever decided to get on a healing path, we would start her with eating less sweet fruits, more greens and foods that fall under the nightshade category such as tomatoes , so that she can work her way over slowly to the sweeter fruits to minimize her bloating & eliminations. People need to examine their current state of health and to heal their health issues before they can logically blame the healthy food for their issues. There is also the misinterpretation of things which Lauren explains below 👇
“People tend to latch on to this nightshade idea because they are used to eating cooked tomatoes and having negative reactions. When tomatoes are cooked they become highly acidic and so it is the acidic nature of the tomato that people are reacting to. Not to mention that tomato sauce is usually paired with two highly toxic substances which cause tons of inflammation – wheat and dairy products – so people associate the inflammation caused by slice of pizza as a tomato problem and not a wheat, cheese and cooked tomato problem. This feeds the nightshade nonsense and keeps people suffering and fearing harmless foods while poisoning their body with harmful supplements that keep their body stuck in a state of disease and constantly irritated and reactive”
~ Lauren Whiteman
There is also the issue of eating nightshades before they are properly ripened because plants create a variety of compounds in order to protect themselves from being eaten until the plant is ripe and ready to reproduce. The fruits of a nightshade (tomato for example) are safe to eat once properly ripened. Our taste buds will let us know this. The chemicals in the plant protect the plant vines from being eaten prior to the fruit becoming mature. Thankfully, tomatoes are one of the few commercially grown fruits that they generally pick when they are ripe due to their relatively long shelf life.
I think it’s clear now why nightshades and lecithin compounds have gained a bad reputation. The misinterpretation of things tends to be at the root and can lead people down very confusing paths. The key is simplicity – it always has been and if your body reacts to a certain food type which is otherwise healthy, simply leave that food out of the diet for a while – work on yourself until you’re ready to add it back in.
Mariah/Maria 🍅 Heal Thyself
Healthy Self…
🟣Maria Manazza, Health coach & Author of :
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