What is a Nightshade?

[bagwell1987]

Do you know what they are and how they can affect your life if you become allergic to them? How does one even think that they could be causing the symptoms you may have, whether light symptoms or full-blown symptoms. Have you ever considered your allergies could be more than perfume or environmental allergies?

I'd like to hear from those of you who have experience with this topic or just now developing an interest. Commenting on what you've done or plan to do to discover if this applies to you. And if there are more than the traditional well known nightshade that could be causing issues and why.

This topic isn't intended to offer medical advice or recommendations, just an informative dialogue on a topic that, IMHO, would do well to be discussed.

[Friends just call me Ross]

Are you talking about plants in the Nightshade family?

[Friends just call me Ross]

 

Quote

Deadly nightshade

The name says it all — both the foliage and the berries of this plant are extremely toxic. 

Deadly nightshade has a long, colorful history of use as a poison, but what many people

don't realize is that the nightshade family includescommon food plants, including potatoes,

tomatoes, eggplants and chili peppers.

In fact, all of these plants contain toxins — usually in their foliage — that can be harmful.

In particular, humans and pets should avoid potato and tomato foliage and vines in the garden.

 

https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/photos/13-plants-that-could-kill-you/deadly-nightshade

 

[dove]

Cheryl, I have Graves disease, 40+ years now, a form of hyperactive thyroid, and was told not to eat anything from the nightshade family. But actually,as far as I can tell they have not bothered me to eat them. I think it may be just if you are sensitive to them. Everyone is an individual but  this could be true with anything if you're allergic or sensitive to it.

[Woodland]

3 hours ago, bagwell1987 said:

Do you know what they are and how they can affect your life if you become allergic to them? How does one even think that they could be causing the symptoms you may have, whether light symptoms or full-blown symptoms. Have you ever considered your allergies could be more than perfume or environmental allergies?

I'd like to hear from those of you who have experience with this topic or just now developing an interest. Commenting on what you've done or plan to do to discover if this applies to you. And if there are more than the traditional well known nightshade that could be causing issues and why.

This topic isn't intended to offer medical advice or recommendations, just an informative dialogue on a topic that, IMHO, would do well to be discussed.

There is quite a lot of information regarding the nightshade vegetable family on the following website:  https://draxe.com/nightshade-vegetables/ which you might find helpful.

[dove]

My understanding is if you have a slight reaction, over time, you are just sensitive to it. If you have an immediate, even serious, life-threatening reaction, you are allergic.

[bagwell1987]

The motivation for the thread is to see how informed people are to nightshades, the edible ones not 'deadly nightshades' which are mostly non-edible plants or flowers.

By the end of April I had gone through tests and everything and all it showed was high cholesterol and elevated BP. No reason for why I couldn't lose weight, couldn't breathe, so bad I had a hard time walking from room to room, was very red in the face and other very serious symptoms. I was at my wits end because I KNEW how to eat. I'm a careful eater and not a sweets or junk food eater. So why was I so sick. 

One of the fellas at work is a nutritionist so I pleaded with him to make some assumptions for me, anything. I needed my health back. I literally felt like I was slowly suffocating, dying. (No this doesn't belong in the 'comfort' category' as I' m not seeking comfort) I needed facts, information, something I could work with.

He suggested the Whole 30 plan and eliminate all nightshade vegetables. Coffee should include Bulletproof coffee. He didn't expect me to listen, but when I'm given good advice I take it.

Within 48 hours I awoke in the morning at 4 to go to work, I couldn't believe how good I could breathe. I actually could take a deep breath. It made me sob with relief, something was changing and it was amazing. It's now been 11 weeks and I have indeed changed. Yesterday a sister come over for a minute, she said she didn't recognize me when I walked out of the house. She also had started to worry about me. But I'm on the mend. I accept that it may take me close to a year to fully feel the relief of what those veg did to me but that's ok, every day it gets better. But I have to be careful what I add to my eating. Right now I live on meat with cucumber slices and either kiwi or oranges. Scrambled eggs with mushroom and onion. Bone broth with meat and cabbage and broccoli. At the convention I packed strawberries with my celery and almond butter, and started struggling to breathe again. Apparently I cannot eat them either, nor melons. 

 

So, perhaps more people are allergic to nightshades than we know. Has anyone ever had it suggested to them to bring their eating back to very simple basic items and slowly add other things in only once a week to see how bad their allergy is.

My motivation here is not to complain but to rejoice in the fact that it was a simple solution, one I never knew about. And perhaps more people could benefit if they knew how these certain veg causes the body to attack itself, can very literally contribute to your death.

[Woodland]

So pleased that you have found relief by eliminating those foods from your diet.  It is surprising how many good foods effect different people.  Another range of foods which contain salicylates can also play havoc with a person's health if they are sensitive.  Salicylates are found in many fruits e.g. apples.  A diet called the FODMAP diet was devised that has helped many.

[Woodland]

Further to my post above, I did a bit of checking and both strawberries and melons are high on the salicylate range.   If you are interested you may like to check it out and see if it has any bearing on your health issues.  I also note that quite a few of the deadly nightshade family are also high in salicylates - aubergines, tomatoes,  peppers which may be why you have experienced some relief from you symptoms already if it is salicylates which are contributing to the problem.    Dear sister, I hope you don't mind me mentioning these things.  I just wanted to alert you to other possible food reasons that may be causing your symptoms.  The FODMAP diet (it is an acronym for:  Fermentable, Oligo, Di Mono-saccarides and Polyols) was developed by a team at Monash University in Australia.  Salicylate intolerance produces the following symptoms:  Asthma -like symptoms (trouble breathing and wheezing), headaches, itching, skin rashes, stomach pain, swellings, nasal congestion).  This list is not exhaustive.

[bagwell1987]

Hey sis, I'm thrilled you opened up and told me what you know. That's why I posted this, I can never know it all. Even though I had to do a lot of study I still feel under educated about salicylates. And I'd rather know if a food has them (it) before I eat it. So far my limited diet works and I'm not adventurous to add new foods, I'm scared. I literally was suffocating. All the symptoms + many more were familiar to me. 

I'm going to look up the FODMAP right now.

 

[bagwell1987]

Here is a very comprehensive explanation, this is incredible. I can relate to nearly all the symptoms. https://www.thepaleomom.com/what-is-salicylate-sensitivityintolerance/

 

The list of foods is huge. I'm not having problems with oranges so far and coconut oil only occasionally bothers me. I'll give it up for a few days then go back to having it in my coffee every other day.

 

As far as the environmental things that have it- apparently I was doing the right thing there. I eliminated all the toxic cleaners from my business and gave up all makeup and any personal products long ago. I only use homemade soap, occasionally Tgel if I need to. MH bathroom counter is 3x's more crowded than mine!! And what's strange is after giving up all the deodorants and makeup and lotions I have little problem with BO. A sensitive subject I know, but I feel that the products stopped the natural cleansing process and caused any odor problem to get worse thus needing more product. Hmmm, wonder if that's intentional.

 

Again, my purpose is to educate any who will take the time to read this thread, if you know someone who is struggling to breathe or has some of the other symptoms, do them a favor. Tell them about this. I've been suffering and getting worse for over 10 years. And I can't possibly be the only one.

[dove]

Here's a list of products other than food that contain salicylates..

Salicylate Sensitivity - Product Guide - All about salicylates and salicylate sensitivity.html

[bagwell1987]

That's good Sandra, quite the list huh? Someone that has this sensitivity needs to make so many changes. It does feel daunting. Fortunately I don't have or do most of what's on the lists. I'm a very bare-bones sort of person. Despite my voluminous personality, ya ya I know it, I'm a work in progress

 

[Woodland]

9 hours ago, bagwell1987 said:

Hey sis, I'm thrilled you opened up and told me what you know. That's why I posted this, I can never know it all. Even though I had to do a lot of study I still feel under educated about salicylates. And I'd rather know if a food has them (it) before I eat it. So far my limited diet works and I'm not adventurous to add new foods, I'm scared. I literally was suffocating. All the symptoms + many more were familiar to me. 

I'm going to look up the FODMAP right now.

 

Glad to help.  Let me know how you get on.  It is daunting but if it helps your health then it will be worth it in the long run.

[DLM]

Yes, we have had experience with nightshade foods i.e. tomatoes and potatoes. We had no knowledge of the kinds of reactions one might get from an allergy to these foods. Several years ago my husband began having what he thought was panic attacks. he would feel like he was going to totally lose control. About the same time, he was experiencing severe dizzy spells. He worked in construction doing concrete work so he worked very hard all the time plus the stress that comes with life in this old system of trying to raise a family on low wages. Finally, we went to the doctor and his idea was that he had a brain tumor, so he sent him to a hospital in Denver. Nope, that wasn't it. He went to an audiologist and he told him to try to limit the noise he was around. After going to several more doctors with no answers, we had about given up.

 

A sister in the congregation suggested we see an allergy specialist that came to our city once a week. This doctor did his test that was called a "rast test" done with the blood. The results came back that he had a severe allergy to many things but foremost was potatoes, ethanol, and several other things. This was not a typical allergic reaction but was a cerebral allergy affecting the brain. My husband completely discounted the results because "I have been eating potatoes all my life else we would have starved." Life went on, eating whatever he wanted and suffering these "crazy" spells. We were building a house and for lunch each day, we went to a  local cafe for hamburger and fries. At night he would have a bad spell. I got to thinking what the doctor said and I suggested he not have fries for while and he had no bad spell, so just to try the theory, the next day he had fries and that night he a very severe spell of anxiety.

 

So that was it---no more potatoes for you. But the dizzy spells continued. He was working on a project that had a high plywood fence around it holding the noise in. He took some time off work and we drove our VW Bug to Calif from Colo. When we arrived he was so dizzy he had to just lay around for a week and when we went home it was a repeat of the trip to Calif.   So that noise was the cause of the dizzy spells. When we talked to the doctors about it, they concurred with our findings. The allergist said that he was convinced from his practice that at least more than half of the people in mental hospitals were there because of cerebral allergies. Tom did not eat potatoes in any shape or quantity for 20 years and after that, he had no indication that it was a problem. Sometimes we have to play detective to figure out stuff.

 

After this, I have read in magazines that some doctors are finally discovering what we found out.

Edited July 17, 2017 by DLM
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[bagwell1987]

Oh Dorothy that was so interesting. I can relate to what he went through. I feel for him.

And yes I feel like I'm playing detective all the time. I've added in black olives (nix on the green ones) and blue cheese dressing with added gorgonzola (I like stinky cheese) and seem to be just fine. BUT I cannot eat cheddar, nup not at all. So now I have home grown eggs, mushrooms, onion, cucumber, deep green lettuce, celery and cucumbers. Along with beef/pork/chicken/almond butter. That's it.

Actually I eat only twice a day now and am full almost all the time. Guess my digestion is getting better, noticed again yesterday my cloths are getting baggier, switching back to old ones that didn't fit anymore. Nice.

 

On a side note my avatar is my grandmother- Dorothy!

 

Edited July 17, 2017 by bagwell1987

[DLM]

Yes, I guess you can relate to Tom's problem! It sure takes a lot to trace down all this stuff. I just found from your discussion that I may have a bad reaction to salicylates. I am having many of the symptoms listed. Thanks for starting this thread. 

[bagwell1987]

I sure am still learning. It takes so much time. It feels good to finally be able to eat and not hurt. I don't want to change that. So I stay here in my comfort zone. And looking at the lengthy list of things I can't have is depressing, to add things in one by one and risk the pain isn't appealing either. So I stick with my plan. Feeling good.

I actually like only eating twice a day, eating small meals 4-6 times a day was daunting. Now when I eat it's so small, 6-8 oz meat and a bowl of cucumbers or a green's only salad. Oh, I did find I could have the crispy fried onions, in place of croutons, on my salad or on my omelets. YUM! I buy them in the big bag at the restaurant supply (cash and carry).

Please let me know if you go on the minimalist diet. You may be surprised how you feel. I'd be interested. A sister I shared my experience with did the whole 30 and no nightshades. She's had terrible crones for years, among other illnesses. She also has been unable to lose weight as she aged. She lost 5 pounds and several inches on her month of Whole 30. She said she's going to stay on it.