Comments on: Nightshades

By: lumbeepride

lumbeepride — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:43:52 +0000

well this website and all the comments are sure enlightening…recently found out about having celiac’s (along with hypothyroid, psoriasis, etc) and after doing some ck’g as i was still having some issues this now tells me why. had a baked potatoe for lunch and guess where i spent the rest of the day. talking about trying to figure out now what i can eat is getting to be a major bummer.

By: dee mattice

dee mattice — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:29:15 +0000

did you include all processed foods that state modified food starch is a possible potato starch problem, and all shredded cheese? it’s covered in potato starch. it is the most difficult diet i have ever encountered, and cooking does not elleviate my pain. everything that everyone serves at potlucks add ingredients that have nightshades!!! i always feel best whenever i eat just fruit….but i cannot live on fruit alone. i have been living with the pain, but today it’s just too much. it would be great if there was an herb that helps us eliminate the alkaloids sooner.

By: reluctant veggie

reluctant veggie — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:24:39 +0000

i too am intolerant to nightshades and get a wide range of symptoms (migraines, jaw pain, dry skin, upset stomach, bloating and irritability) if i eat anything from this family.

also a note to those avoiding nightshades:
be careful about OTC pain meds. ibuprofen/motrin/naprosen are all nightshade derivatives.

soy sauce made in the US is made with genetically modified soy beans (GMO) and is cut with a nightshade (petunia). stick with organic soy sauce as it is not GMO.

By: Pdw

Pdw — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:54:54 +0000

Spices that are nightshades include:

Cayenne
Chili
Paprika
Pepper sauce
Pimento

Remember that anything with “pepper” or “chili” in the name, other than pepper ground from peppercorns is a nightshade. All of the commercial curries will have one form or another of pepper in them. And many of the things that you eat such as mayonnaise that just say “spices” include paprika or other nightshades.

By: kathryn

kathryn — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:38:41 +0000

Mark – thank you for covering this topic. I am so glad to see your site and others covering the possible problems with nightshades. I am highly intolerant to nightshades. I used to eat them on a regular basis but I do not eat any of them now. My symptoms ranged from arthritis, inflammation around my eyes and eye lids, acne and digestive issues. When I was in my mid-20s I had been diagnosed with osteo-arthritis. Within a month of not eating nightshades, the pain in my joints went away. I highly recommend if any one suspects that they are having problems with nightshades to try and get them out of your diet. It is well worth the effort.

By: Deb Dolloff

Deb Dolloff — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:43:17 +0000

I too, have celiac disease. I am intolerant of so many things, including nightshades and cruciferous veggies. Sweet potatoes and yams are not nightshades, even though they too, do not agree with me. I can’t remember where the yam comes from, but sweet potatoes are a member of the morning glory family.

By: Scott Kustes - Modern Forager

Scott Kustes - Modern Forager — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:40:18 +0000

Mark,
No, I don’t think there is anything wrong with fruit, per se. If you read my site, you’ll notice that I recommend real, natural foods. Fruits are part of that. However, we have to acknowledge that today’s fruits are nothing like the fruits we evolved with. Today’s fruits are bred to be sweet, meaning more sugar. They have less vitamins and more sugar today…basically less good stuff and more bad stuff. That means fruits are great replacements for grains, but poor replacements for vegetables.

The fact that sugars are immediately available to burn isn’t necessarily a good thing. The failing of the low-fat diet is that it plays games with hormones, insulin in particular. Blood sugar spikes and dips result in constant hunger.

The key factor is that the body SHOULD be tuned to burn fat. Which means you have to turn down the sugar and teach it to burn fat. I’m not sure that there’s any facts behind the statement that fat is deposited more directly into fat deposits. If anything, sugar (even natural sugars) raises the fat storage hormone insulin and cause a propensity to store fat.

Also, a diet based on whole, natural foods, a Paleo-style diet if you will, is hardly an “alternative nutritional theory.” It’s the diet your body evolved with.

Cheers
Scott Kustes
Modern Forager

By: Mark (not Sisson)

Mark (not Sisson) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:50:38 +0000

I took a look at your website, and assumed your reply would be something along that line .

I am open to alternative nutritional theories.

I think my only point is that the sugars (and hopefully a good mix of sugars, not sucrose) are immediately available to burn. Where the low-fat diet fails is that many people do not burn them off (I think).

If you ingest fat, and your body is not tuned to burn fat, it much more directly goes to your exsting fat deposits.

Do you see a problem with eating fruit (an honest question)?

By: Scott Kustes - Modern Forager

Scott Kustes - Modern Forager — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:26:34 +0000

So then it’s not calories, but macronutrients that matter? This sounds like the same flawed logic that begat the low-fat paradigm in the first place. The body can burn fat as well as glucose, hence how people maintain energy on a low-carb diet. Perhaps I’m misunderstanding where you’re going with this.

Scott Kustes
Modern Forager

By: Mark (not Sisson)

Mark (not Sisson) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:46:00 +0000

When you eat fat it stays fat (I know some fats are better than others), and fat is hard to burn. If you eat fruit, you have the chance to burn the sugar content before it becomes fat. Of course if you do not, then it does not matter.