The Dangers Of Nightshades Why Eating The Wrong Fruits And Vegetables Can Make Pain Worse

Few people are familiar with the term nightshade vegetables, and many will be surprised to learn that consuming foods from this plant group may be contributing to their pain and inflammation. Nightshades belong to the Solanaceae family which includes over 2,000 species.  They also include some of the most popular foods consumed today; such as tomatoes, potatoes, all types of peppers, and eggplant.  Although not truly nightshades, blueberries, huckleberries, goji berries and ashwaganda all share the same inflammation-inducing alkaloids. Nightshades induce inflammation through a specific chemical known as solanine. Solanine is known as an aceytlcholinesterase inhibitor – it acts to prevent the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh), leading to excessive build-up of ACh in nerve receptor sites. Researchers believe that this chemical can ctually irritate the gastrointestinal tract and when it’s absorbed into the bloodstream, can cause destruction of the oxygen-carrying red blood cells. within the nervous system as it’s responsible for stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system can have an action for over-stimulation of Ach receptors.

The Nightshade List:

Tomatoes (all varieties, including tomatillos)
Potatoes (all varieties, NOT sweet potatoes or yams)
Eggplant (aubergine)
Okra
Artichokes
Peppers (all varieties such as bell pepper, wax pepper, green & red peppers, chili peppers,
cayenne, paprika, etc.)
Goji berries
Tomarillos (a plum-like fruit from Peru)
Sorrel
Garden Huckleberry & Blueberries (contain the alkaloids that induce inflammation)
Gooseberries
Pepino Melon
The Homeopathic “Belladonna”
Tobacco
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper

Soy sauce made in the U.S. is generally made with genetically modified (GMO) soy beans, which are cut with the nightshade plant Petunia. A healthier option is to purchase Braggs Amino Acids at your health food store. It is naturally-fermented soy sauce and the only other ingredient is spring water….it tastes exactly the same as other soy sauces only this one is pure.

Note: The condiments black/white pepper and pepper corns are NOT nightshades

Solanines must be excreted as alpha-solanine because they are not water soluble and cannot be destroyed by cooking. Alpha-solanine is classified as a neuro-toxin. Interestingly most “foods” that contain alpha-solanine also contain at least 5 other neurotoxins including atropine and nicotine. After reading the symptoms associated with nightshade consumption, it is easy to understand why one of the major problems attributed to nightshade is arthritis. Arthritis is also the most common disability in the U.S. (4,5)  Statistics from a 2007-2009 study show that doctor diagnosed arthritis affects 49.9 million people in the United States alone (6).  Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis affecting more than 20 million people. More than 2 million people are affected by rheumatoid arthritis, the most disabling and painful form of arthritis. Arthritis has no boundaries to gender, race or age, it affects young and old alike. (5, 7) In fact it may be surprising to some that an estimated 294,000 children (age 18 and under), have some form of arthritis. (7) In 2003 the medical cost of arthritis alone was approximately 128 billion annually. (4) Since 1994, disability-related costs for medical care and lost productivity have exceeded an estimated $300 billion annually in the United States, this includes arthritis and other rheumatoid related illness (8) Add to these numbers the report released in 2011 by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, where an estimated 116 million adults live with chronic pain, which costs the United States $635 billion annually in health care and lost productivity. (9) So the question is how much of these problems are nightshade related? That is the question some researchers are asking, as they believe that arthritis is often misdiagnosed in people who may in fact be experiencing severe side effects of nightshade consumption.

Many  who  suffer with arthritis or an arthritis related disease such as lupus, rheumatism, and other musculoskeletal pain disorders, have found that consuming foods from the nightshade family is in fact adversely affecting their health. Norman F. Childers, PhD, founder of the Arthritis Nightshades Research Foundation stated: “Diet appears to be a factor in the etiology of arthritis based on surveys of over 1400 volunteers during a 20-year period. Plants in the drug family, Solanaceae (nightshades) are an important causative factor in arthritis in sensitive people.

Products to Avoid

  • Topical medications for pain and inflammation containing capsicum (in cayenne pepper).
    Many baking powders contain potato starch
    Don’t lick envelopes, many adhesives contain potato starch
    Vodka (potatoes used in production)
  • Homeopathic remedies containing Belladonna (known as deadly nightshade).
    Prescription and over-the-counter medications containing potato starch as a filler (especially prevalent in sleeping and muscle relaxing meds).
    Edible flowers: petunia, chalice vine, day jasmine, angel and devil’s trumpets.
    Atropine and Scopolamine, used in sleeping pills
  • -Read labels carefully because you could be doing everything else right, and still be sabotaged by one small amount of an ingredient.
    -Never buy a food that uses the generic term of seasoning or spices, because you won’t know what is really in your food.

Three month challenge

Avoid all nightshades for three months if you want to know if nightshades affect you!! (It’s called a challenge for a reason).You must be careful to note the previous nightshade list, and become a label reader as some homeopathics, prescriptions; over the counter medications as well as numerous processed foods contain nightshades. Prescriptions and over the counter medicines may require a discussion with your pharmacist or a phone call to the manufacturer of your over the counter medicines. After three months begin to reintroduce one nightshade at a time. You should take note of any aches, pains, stiffness, and loss of energy, headaches, respiratory problems or any other symptoms.

 

Source : http://theheartysoul.com