Nightshade vegetables are among the foods that some people feel
can trigger arthritis flares. Others feel their arthritis symptoms
improve when nightshade vegetables are avoided. What are nightshade
vegetables? According to The George Mateljan Foundation, food members of
the nightshade family include:
potatoes (not sweet potatoes)
tomatoes
eggplant
sweet and hot peppers (including paprika, cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce)
ground cherries
tomatillos and tamarillos
garden huckleberry and naranjillas
pepinos and pimentos
Should
people with arthritis avoid nightshade vegetables? According to the
University of Washington website, "No foods have been definitively shown
to cause or exacerbate arthritis in most individuals. A variety of
diets and hand-me-down information exists about certain foods and
arthritis, in particular the night shade plants, but none of it has been
proven." The effect of foods on arthritis symptoms vary greatly from
person to person. It is an individual decision whether or not to avoid
nightshade vegetables.
http://arthritis.about.com/b/2006/09/25/nightshade-vegetables-should-people-with-arthritis-avoid-nightshade-foods.htm
http://arthritis.about.com/od/diet/a/Are-Nightshades-Bad-For-Arthritis.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/478157-nightshade-diet-arthritis/
How To Do A No Nightshades Diet
In
a no nightshades diet, you avoid vegetables and spices of the
nightshade family in order to end chronic joint, muscle, and nerve pain.
With a trial diet, you can find out if you can eliminate or reduce your
chronic pain, even arthritis.
It's thought that the nightshade
family alkaloids – nicotine and its close relatives atropine, capsaicin,
solanine, and tomatine – bioaccuumulate in the tissues and disrupt some
people's metabolism. (See Nightshade Vegetables for additional
information.)
Dr. Sherry Rogers, MD, advises a three-month trial
of the no nightshades diet for anyone who is in chronic pain, from any
apparent cause—whether arthritis or pain at the site of an old injury.
In her practice, she found that the majority of chronic pain patients
become completely out of pain or improved.
The diet was developed
by Norman Childers, a Rutgers horticulturalist who researched the
sometimes-fatal arthritis-like illness in cattle that graze on
nightshade plants. He then made the connection to arthritis and pain in
people.
What To Avoid
In a sensitive person, it's possible
for a single french fry, one bite of hot pepper, or dash of seasoning
to trigger joint pain or other pain.
The only way for the no
nightshades diet to be diagnostic—for you to find out definitely if
nightshades are causing you pain—is to not ingest the smallest bit of
nightshades during the trial diet. The most difficult part of this is
that nightshade starch and spices are hidden in processed foods.
See the full List of Nightshade Vegetables and Nightshade Family for a list of what fruits and vegetables to avoid.
Tobacco:
It's likely that many people are in pain because they smoke. Don't
smoke. If you have a debilitating pain condition, avoid second-hand
smoke.
Nightshade Vegetables (and a few unusual fruits):
Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, green peppers, and chile peppers are
served as vegetables. Potatoes are often eaten as french fries, potato
chips, and potato salad; tomatoes as ketchup; chile peppers in hot
sauces and barbecue sauces.
Hot peppers are used as flavorings in many foods and restaurant meals; peppers are the pimento in stuffed olives.
Nightshade fruits include goji berries and the more unusual cape gooseberry, pepino, and tomarillo fruits.
Nightshade
Spices include cayenne and paprika. Hot pepper spices are ingredients
in chili powder and in curry. You'll find these spices in typical ethnic
cuisines, including Mexican, Spanish, Caribbean, African, Indian, and
East Asian.
Processed Food and Prepared Food: Read the
ingredients list on the label for any named nightshades or for the
generic terms that typically include nightshades. Paprika and chile
pepper are frequently used to add "zing" to processed foods, but are
listed on the label only as "spices" or "flavors."
Nightshade spices or starch can be listed under any of these terms:
"Flavors"
"Natural flavors"
"Natural flavorings"
"Spices"
"Potato starch"
Any "food starch"
Any "vegetable starch"
Any "vegetable protein"
And can be used in any of the following:
Breads, baked goods, crackers, breading, stuffing
Sausage, cold cuts, seafood, mock seafood
Gravy, sauces, meat sauce, fish sauce, condiments, salad dressings
Baked beans, nuts, seasonings
Cola drinks
Potato starch is a common filler in prescription and nonprescription medications and nutritional supplements.
Unfortunately,
the diet requires not only avoiding french fries and tomatoes, but most
processed food. However, it sometimes takes only a few days of
avoidance to have significant pain relief.
How Long To Do The Diet
Dr.
Rogers recommends three months on the diet. It may take that long to
get pain relief, as it did in her personal experience. Probably most
people will respond within two weeks.
In my own experience, I had
some positive effect in about three days. I had maximum pain relief in
two weeks. In my case, this was about a 25% reduction in overall pain.
This was the difference between not being able to type at all and being
able to occasionally type: a significant difference. However, I
ultimately went on to a rare food elimination diet.
I've chosen
to continue the no nightshades diet based on my experience with
experiments. After several years, I'm able to have occasional small
amounts of nightshade family foods, about once a month, with no ill
effects.
If the diet relieves serious pain, it is typically
enjoyable to continue! Of course you are always free to experiment. It
is not necessarily a lifetime sentence.
Substitution Tips-
Substitute Spices-
There are many strong flavorings beyond the nightshades:
Garlic
Turmeric
Ginger
Chives
Onion
A no-nightshade Mexican flavor combination: Garlic, cumin, and basil
You can make your own chili powder or curry by mixing the spices yourself and leaving out the nightshade spices.
Substitutes For Potatoes
Sweet potatoes - baked whole or as fries
Fried plantains - substitute for French fries
Turnips
Jerusalem artichokes
Substitutes for Tomatoes and Bell Peppers
Summer squash
Zucchini
http://www.getting-started-with-healthy-eating.com/no-nightshades-diet.html