The plants that we eat are members of families, just like we are. Sometimes one member of the family is problematic for those of us who have food sensitivities or allergies. Sometimes the entire family has to be avoided. Knowing which foods are related can help reduce the time it takes to identify problem foods and purge them from our diet.
One family I’ve recently had to explore is nightshades. This family includes Bell Peppers, Belladonna, Cayenne pepper, Chili Peppers, Chili Powders, Eggplant, Gogi berries, Gooseberries, Huckleberries, Paprika, Potatoes, Sorrel, Tomatillos, and Tomatoes. The herb Ashwagandha and Tobacco are also members of this family.
Nightshades contain phytochemicals that can be problematic for some people. These culprits are salicylates, histamines, and glycoalkaloids. I already know that if I take aspirin, I break out in hives. That means I want to be cautious about foods that contain salicylates. Histamines are also a known problem for me. What are phytochemicals? (And why should you eat more of them?) | UCLA Health
I have been limiting tomatoes and eggplant, but I have not eliminated bell peppers, chili powder, or potatoes. I ate red bell pepper yesterday. Today, I have an itchy rash on my back that could be related. This is something I will continue to explore.
Perhaps it would be easier to eliminate the whole list of nightshades from my diet, but then I may be eliminating foods I can eat and that doesn’t seem necessary. The hard part is isolating an irritant in order to confirm that it is causing the problem.
Rashes aren’t the only symptom caused by nightshades. They can impose a high histamine burden on the body resulting in swelling, heart palpitations, elevated blood pressure, anxiety, nausea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Having to keep my histamine ingestion low, this means nightshades offer a double-whammy for me. Sounds like I should skip that baked potato I want for dinner.
But I don’t necessarily have to skip it. Peeling the potato may reduce the salicylate and glycoalkaloid enough to make it tolerable. The only problem with that is, I love potato skin. Nonetheless, I’m willing to leave the skin behind in order to have potatoes as a menu option.
Beyond issues with salicylates and histamine, the glycoalkaloid solanine causes problems if you consume too much of it. I’m not convinced this is a huge issue for most people, but anything can be a trigger for a specific person. Pay special attention if you’re bothered by both nightshades and blueberries. This could be a clue that you need to avoid solanine.
While it’s important to avoid foods that cause detrimental autoimmune responses, increase inflammation, contribute to rashes, or cause other symptoms, it’s good to consume as wide a variety of fresh food as possible. Learning as much as you can about a family of food can help you identify problem foods more quickly.
The quicker you identify problem foods, the sooner you can enjoy members of the family that aren’t a problem. I think I’ll still have that baked potato tonight, but the skin will stay on my plate!
Get to Know Your Food – in thriver words (cooking2thrive.com)