Nightshade/Solanine Detox--Have you done this?

[Sahamamama]

If you have "gone off" nightshades (tomatoes, white potatoes, eggplants, bell peppers), can you please tell me about your experience and results? I am considering doing this to see if it will alleviate or eliminate my arthritis.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I am doing this right now. It is my current food challenge. I am on day 11 of no Nightshades.

 

The eggplant, bell peppers and whole tomatoes have been easy to avoid. Tomato based sauces were easy until yesterday. I slipped and had a little bit of salsa juice.

 

Avoiding potatoes (I'm not eating any kind of potato or yam) has been the biggest challenge for me. I have been craving potatoes for three days now - but I have not given in.

 

I haven't noticed a difference in how I feel. I am still dealing with lyme disease and a secondary mono flare up so who knows how I would feel if I were 100% healthy.

 

I have been told that you need at least 30 days in order to see the real benefits from not consuming nightshades.

 

If you choose to do this please let me know how it goes for you.

[Sahamamama]

I am doing this right now. It is my current food challenge. I am on day 11 of no Nightshades.

 

The eggplant, bell peppers and whole tomatoes have been easy to avoid. Tomato based sauces were easy until yesterday. I slipped and had a little bit of salsa juice.

 

Avoiding potatoes (I'm not eating any kind of potato or yam) has been the biggest challenge for me. I have been craving potatoes for three days now - but I have not given in.

 

I haven't noticed a difference in how I feel. I am still dealing with lyme disease and a secondary mono flare up so who knows how I would feel if I were 100% healthy.

 

I have been told that you need at least 30 days in order to see the real benefits from not consuming nightshades.

 

If you choose to do this please let me know how it goes for you.

 

Thanks for this advice. Yes, I will begin this, and I will let you know how it goes! Hope you feel better soon. :grouphug:

[Granny_Weatherwax]

How are you doing eliminating nightshades?

 

Since my initial challenge I have decided to permanently stop eating potatoes. I cannot tolerate them. Earlier this year I was having problems with my hands swelling. The docs couldn't relate that symptom to all of the other stuff so it was never really addressed. Well, once I eliminated potatoes from my diet my hands stopped swelling. I slipped up last week and had a small bowl of potato soup for dinner. The next morning I woke up flexing my fingers and had some swelling in my hands. That was enough for me - no more potatoes.

 

I still haven't had any peppers, eggplant or whole tomatoes. I have had tomato sauce in foods, lasagna and pizza. I am getting used to hamburgers with no ketchup and am finding other condiments to complement my food choices.

 

All in all this has been my most enlightening food challenge and I am glad I did it. I do miss french fries, though. Gotta find a suitable substitute.

[StaceyinLA]

I do not believe they are considered nightshades.

 

This is something that interests me because I have some joint pain. I also don't tolerate eggplant well - it tears up my tongue when I eat it (weird I know, but it is almost like it strips off the top layer of my tongue). I eat small bits occasionally, but mostly avoid it anyway, because of that.

 

I LOVE tomatoes, but have really cut back the last couple of summers. I don't know about giving up tomato sauces - that would be tough for me.

 

I do like potatoes, but feel I could take them or leave them. Sweet potatoes are another story. I LOVE sweet potatoes. In Alicia Silverstone's book, she does not include them in the nightshade category. She recommends keeping the nightshades to a minimum also.

[StaceyinLA]

"Unlike potatoes, sweet potatoes do not contain nightshade alkaloids

 

For some individuals, the botanical difference between sweet potato and the more common baking potato might be particularly important. The Solanaceae family to which common Russet baking potatoes belong is also known as the nightshade family. Nightshade plants contain a variety of substances called alkaloids, and these substances can sometimes provoke allergy-related symptoms. The nightshade alkaloids are completely avoided with a change from baking potatoes to sweet potatoes because sweet potatoes are not part of the nightshade family. Although not clearly demonstrated in research, a switch from potatoes over to sweet potatoes might be especially helpful for individuals with inflammatory joint-related problems like rheumatoid arthritis."

 

There are quite a few sites with information if you search for "sweet potatoes nightshades." This is good news though, because sweet potatoes have so many health benefits!!

[Jen in PA]

I have multiple inflammatory issues and have tried eliminating various things to alleviate my symptoms. Nightshade foods seem to make no difference at all for me. I didn't see any changes at all when I cut them out (for 3 weeks), which was better than when I eliminated dairy and my symptoms worsened! Wheat seems to be the sole culprit in my case, which is what my doctor suspected in the first case.... I just didn't want her to be right.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Stacey - thank you for doing that research. I am so excited to read about the sweet potatoes. I can make sweet potato fries when I have a french fry craving!!!

 

This is good news.