Coeliac and tomatoes

[lessan]

I have been on a strict gift diet since last August and slowly started getting a little better, however my symptoms became bad again and I have been having various tests carried out to try & rule out certain things. Now I eat a lot of salads especially from spring onwards, so about a week ago I started getting a little fed up with salads for my lunch & hey presto my symptoms have subsided, I can only put this down to either tomatoes or peppers as I have had leaves and cucumber & coleslaw. Does anybody else had this problem & if it is quite common why did my consultant not think to ask me his?

[Mia1057]

Other people might be able to help, my diet is about 35% tomato based so I am hoping there is no problem with tomato in any form.

[Hidden]

I love tomatoes and eat lots especially the baby plum ones, so fear not Mia.

But some people have an allergic reaction to tomatoes and this may be because they like peppers are part of the nightshade family of plants:

whfoods.com/genpage.php?tna...

There are also some that think that those who are allergic tomatoes are allergic to the pollen and get a cross reaction and this affects those who also suffer from hay fever.

[lessan]

Many thanks for that, i will definitely look into this further, my consultant wants me to have another endoscopy in a couple of weeks and I would like to explore other options before I have to go through that again.

[Penel]

This year seems to have been a bad one for allergies in the UK. It may be the high level/concentration of pollen because of the shortened growing season. I've had an oral allergic reaction to melon for the first time ever. Although raw tomatoes may upset you, it is possible that they will be ok cooked.

[Liana]

There is a family of plants called Nightshades. Both sweet peppers and tomatoes are from that family, as are eggplants and potatoes (nicotine, from the tobacco plant, is also a nightshade) Some people who are predisposed to arthritis type medical issues or irritable bowel syndrome have been known to have difficulty digesting these plants. Just because you can't tolerate one member of the plant family doesn't mean you can't eat them all, but it would certainly be something to watch for. I can't eat tomatoes, even if they are organic. I can eat sweet peppers (but only if they're organic) and potatoes, but not eggplants. Each person is unique, but knowing the plant family can often help you sift through symptoms to find the culprits much faster. Avoid plants that have been genetically modified, treated with pesticides and are not organic. Often it's what a plant doesn't have that's more important than what it does have! Best wishes for success!!

[BellaC79]

I totally agree with Liana, I have the same issues with both tomatoes and red peppers I have coeliac and neuropathy which both flare when I eat these. I get sore joints and in general after reading about nightshade foods I try to avoid most of them. Any food which causes an inflammatory response is not good for us!

PS my salads are usually very green...just rocket, spinach, cucumber, avocado, radish, and pine nuts to try and add a little rainbow effect :0)

[Jacks]

In a recent televised capsule biopsy investigation, the patient ate a meal of steak, chips and salad. The capsule showed the chips were digested fairly quickly, the steak digested not soon after but the salad was still being digested quite a few hours later - therefore further along the gut. As a Coeliac I don't have good digestion to start with so I'm happy to assume that the discomfort I feel after eating a load of raw salad is down to it still not being digested.

Tibetan monks apparently think we're mad eating raw foods and would wilt salads - I tried it and hey, no gut rot after (it's a bit weird looking).

The info about nightshade is also true - you'd probably have more symptoms than just gut (sore mouth, tongue etc)

[lessan in reply to Jacks]

That makes sense as I keep getting ulcers on my tongue and my mouth is always sore on one side

[vbporscha]

Hi, I posted a topic last week about getting bad bloating after lunch, I've been eating salad for lunch Mon - Fri since my Doctor asked me to go gluten free 6ish weeks ago. Last week I avoided salad and I felt lots better. Today I have brought in lettuce and tomato, I'm going to eat one or the other and try the different components throughout the week to see what's affecting me. I do suspect (following helpful advice on here) that it may be something to do with raw food, I didn't really eat salad much until last year.

[katethebake]

Yep, I am nightshade intolerant. Initially I had to exclude all nightshades from my diet to avoid an anaphalactic reaction. Now - 4 years later - I can occasionally consume a tiny amount of chilli or paprika (such as used as a colouring in sweets, for example) and luckily the odd pizza express pizza base without a major reaction.

I haven't had any luck with the medical profession whatsoever. Yes, my GP prescribes me epi-pens, but i haven't been able to get anyone to do any more tests to help narrow it down. On a positive side, cutting out nightshades reduced the inflammatory arthritis I had to a manageable level. But as a negative, it affects my breathing so I really struggle around smokers, even walking down the street behind someone smoking leaves me needing ventolin.

If your initial gut damage heals well, you may find that you are able to tolerate nightshades again. Put up with it for now (by excluding all nightshades) and try again after a year of being healed from cd damage.

Btw: potato occurs in almost all gluten free breads and baked goods from the supermarket so be extra careful reading labels before you eat.

[JoolsEnzo]

I can't eat bought coleslaw if the dressing has mustard in it, if that's any help. I know someone who can't eat any of the nightshades too and it makes my gf requirements seem almost a doddle. I hope you can get some answers from your consultant. Good luck!

[Designated-gerbil]

I also have problems with nightshades. I eat very small quantities of tomatos and can digest that. Eggplant is the most offensive of the group for me, it gives me the runs.

[Cairnperson]

I have reflux as well as being gluten intolerant, tomatoes give me violent heartburn/discomfort due to the acid so I tend to leave them out of salads. Can sometimes manage a comple of the cherry tomatoes without problems. If cooked they are tolerable but try to avoid them. If you are having endoscopy it may be to see if you have reflux problems.

[virgolizzy]

Have a Gf diet & initially had lots of issues with tomatoes, peppers etc. Now 18 months later on a strict Gf & Df diet, I can tolerate the latter 2 a bit more - if i have too much tho, it upsets me again, so it's a reminder to have just a little. You may find, as a lot of us have, listening to your body is far more helpful than doctors & consultants trying to pinpoint the issues.

[lessan]

Many thanks for all your answers don't know where I would be without this forum X