Nightshade plant intolerance?

[Luisa22]

I know I can't eat capsicums. I tried now and again but they upset my tummy (they never used to!) I haven't tried aubergines, just sheer instinct, and tomatoes can definitely make my gut flare up. I thought it was just the skins and seeds which did that.

But I never made the "nightshade plant" link before. It's the only thing I can think of.

So my potato mystery continues. I always use fresh ones, no sign of green or sprouting, and peel them, then boil them until nice and tender. I do love 'em, and they are happy in my tummy until a few hours later.

Sometimes they really upset my tummy lower down (feels like the colon area) and sometimes they don't and I can get away with eating maybe a cupful. But if I have just a bit more than that I get tummy aches low down and some abdomen distension and looser stool the next day.

Potatoes when peeled and boiled are supposed to be a slightly "binding" plain food so it's hard to understand why they have the opposite effect on me.

All the above foods I used to be able to eat with no problem so this possible nightshade intolerance is a fairly new thing. I just don't know why. Can someone become nightshade intolerant suddenly in later life when there was no problem before?

Is anyone else nightshade plant intolerant and what symptoms do you get?

[ForViolet]

My nightshade intolerance seemed to begin later in life. I'm one of those who experience increased joint pain if I eat them. Nowadays I never eat them, but in the beginning I really did not want to test the nightshade free diet.

It was hard to believe that something that had been no problem was now a problem.

[MatthewU]

The nightshade family, Tomatoes (all varieties, and tomato products like marinara, ketchup, etc.)Tomatillos Potatoes (white and red potatoes. However, sweet potatoes are not nightshades.) Eggplant All peppers (bell peppers, jalapeno, chili peppers, and hot peppers) Red spices (curry powder, chili powder, cayenne powder, red pepper) Paprika, Pimentos, Tobacco, Goji berries, Ground cherries (different from regular cherries) and Ashwagandha can lead to leaky gut syndrome so best to avoid them if you're having problems, sweet potato would be a natural alternative.

[xjrs]

It's weird since I can eat some nightshades and not others. I can eat aubergines with no problem - in fact I eat them about four times a week. I can eat small amounts of red peppers (capsicums). I cannot eat tomatoes at all (pain and gas). In terms of potatoes, they do make me more on the constipated side. It seems food intolerances can go wider than specific families of foods. For instance, the make up of a tomato with its high acidity is completely different to the make up of a potato which tends to be more alkaline.

In terms of whether your food intolerances can change over time, I think so. Remnants of different foods are broken down by specific bacteria in the gut. These bacteria can shift and change due to antibiotics, the aging process and stress meaning that the bacteria that used to handle a specific food is no longer there or in lower numbers. That's my theory anyway. I have also found that some foods I ate without problem on a regular basis, I can no longer tolerate (though there were antibiotics in between these times). I do wonder if eating too much of the same thing for too long can lead to food intolerances i.e. the body starts regarding the food as an enemy by triggering low level inflammation and symptoms, I am not sure.

[Iesgobdafydd in reply to xjrs]

If an intolerance arises due to changes in the balance of bacteria in the gut microbiome, it logically follows that if the previous balance can be restored, then the intolerance can be reversed. As someone whose gut seems to have healed, I like to remind people that it can happen.

I have a friend who has problems with some varieties of tomato and not others (and also with berries); intolerances can be very specific. I've also heard of people having trouble with some types of rice and not other types.

[xjrs in reply to Iesgobdafydd]

I've just had a thought. Fecal Microbiota Transplants (FMT) are controversial since studies have found that people have acquired diseases from their donors. FMT tends to be limited to C. Dif infection and as a last resort. I'm wondering if it could be possible to take and store a fecal sample when you are young and healthy and able to eat what you want before the gut becomes compromised through antibiotics, infection, stress or the aging process, then if the worst happens, you could given your own bacteria back, thus reducing the risk of acquiring diseases from other people. Just a thought.

[Iesgobdafydd in reply to xjrs]

Wouldn't that be great!

[Luisa22 in reply to xjrs]

That would be a good idea. 👍

[Nothing_but_books in reply to Iesgobdafydd]

Any idea how you got your gut to heal?

[Iesgobdafydd in reply to Nothing_but_books]

It was a slow process so it's hard to be certain - I saw modest improvement after taking a somewhat longer than suggested course of Atrantil so that could have been a factor. I think the underlying cause of my IBS was TMJD, so working on sorting out my messed-up connective tissue was probably a major factor. For many months during and after the Atrantil I also ate a very restricted diet limited to a pretty small but fairly balanced range of the things I'd found easiest to digest, but I have no idea if that helped or made things worse or neither.

[Nothing_but_books in reply to Iesgobdafydd]

Thank you.

[Luisa22 in reply to xjrs]

I don't know. You got me thinking there. All the foods that seem mainly kind to my tummy (17 veggies and fish, eggs, butter, rice, certain breads, certain chocolate etc, I have been eating now for a good 2-3 years, though have over that time expanded my vegetable selection. I can just occasionally step outside of that framework, but not too far and not too often. So far, there's been no sign of intolerance to all of the foods that suit me. I do hope there won't be ! 😬

[E3178]

Hi, I am finding that I have tummy ache every afternoon lately.My stomach has always caused problems.

Today I was checking my food diary( I have kept them for 40 yrs) and new potatoes in their skins seem to be something I am eating a lot of.

I will eat sweet potatoes instead to see what happens.

It maybe the whole of the nightshade family is a problem for me.

I have been taking aflorex for a month now but because of my heightened stomach problems I can't tell if they are helping.

I will certainly be changing my diet from today because I am at my wits end with the pain and discomfort which has made my fibromyalgia symptoms worse.

Fatigue, brain fog, pain all over, itching etc.,etc.,

If I find that things improve I will post my results.

[Luisa22 in reply to E3178]

Oh I just love new potatoes in their skins. But about 3 years ago I discovered I had to skin ALL potatoes, then I had a better chance with them. I ate them with skins all my life. I will get a dull lower abdomen tummy ache and swollen belly there, and loose gut next morning if I eat those without peeling them for sure. But the past year it doesn't seem to matter whether I peel them or not. If I have a proper portion I get those effects. If I just have one or two I'm usually OK. But my problem is I'm hungry at dinner time and have no self discipline with the gorgeous little things!

[Kimberly99]

I've recently discovered that lecthins are an issue for me. Lechtins are naturally occurring in all fruits and veggies, but nightshades are particularly bad. Tomatoes being the worst, from what I understand. I can't eat tomatoes without getting severe heartburn. Try peeling your potatoes possibly, or organic. The lechtins are the plant's natural pest defense, but since crops are getting genetically modified to resist more disease and pests, lechtins have been getting stronger. I also have trouble with nuts if I eat too many (more than a handful), particularly raw nuts. I will end up on the floor with stomach pain so bad.

[E3178]

Thanks for your replies. I will be more selective in what I eat. I am aware of lectins but it means cutting out many foods which I have done before without a miracle cure.I have been on Aflorex for 4 weeks now and am wondering if these probiotics are causing my worsened stomach symptoms.

I have taken other probiotics in the past and they seemed to affect me too.

I have also been practicing meditation

For the last month with an Ibs cd.

I never know if it is what I ingest or is it a gut brain reaction.

I realise there is also a fibro connection

Which my Mother also suffered from and although I lost her in my early twenties I rember her suffering with the same wind, bloat, indigestion etc.