My secret to health?
We hope you’re well and safe wherever you are. This is it. Final discussion of the Solanaceae family.
I have a secret. As much as I’ve loved researching the Solanaceae family to share with you, my true interest is in how their virtues belie their potential harm. I didn’t start my research for their health benefits, nor because I’m interested in organic chemistry but because I wanted to understand why I can not consume this whole family of fruits and vegetables. All these weeks I’ve been writing to you about the significance of this family and yet if I eat them more than a couple of times in a week I run the risk of incurring symptoms such as fatigue, body aches and/or fever for up to several days.
Edible nightshades are rich sources of vitamins and minerals so they are without question deemed healthy. One reason the Solanaceae family is so special is because they produce a diverse range of alkaloids. I mentioned alkaloids very briefly in our discussion of the tomato and eggplant and a little more extensively with chili peppers. The Smithsonian article of “How the Potato Changed the World” mentions them too. Though some alkaloids are commonly used pharmaceutically they are all considered toxins. The plants produce them in every part of their organism as a natural chemical defense against almost anything the natural environment has to offer like snails, caterpillars and bacteria to name so few. So naturally, some have been isolated for use as pesticides. The concentration is different in all parts of the plant and concentrations within areas of the plant can change. For example, within the fruits of a tomato or eggplant, alkaloids can lessen due to ripening with the intention that an animal will come along, eat it and spread the seeds. Or alkaloids increase in the potato due to stress, or light exposure to deter predators as it works to propagate itself. All the reading I’ve done about alkaloids indicates these bio active compounds are consumed by humans in amounts negligible enough to generally be considered safe though toxic in high enough doses. Toxic poisoning from nightshades typically occurs due to unwitting consumption of wild berries from the family. Potato poisoning due to alkaloids chaconine and solanine is the most common but considerably rare relative to their use as food staples.
Although many elimination diets call for eliminating nightshades, there is no scientific research to support that edible nightshades are anything but good for you. I could find information on only one study done in the 70s, based on surveys submitted, to support the notion that eliminating nightshades from one’s diet caused remission, if not reduced symptoms for arthritis sufferers. Generally, nightshades are suggested for elimination to reduce symptoms such as body and joint aches, muscle spasms and overall inflammation. Please consider that:
Alkaloids are known to irritate the gut mucosa increasing intestinal permeability aka leaky gut syndrome (significant because it heightens one’s immune response to seemingly attack the self)
Several alkaloids are recognized as inhibiting the function of neurotransmitter acetylcholine, the primary neurotransmitter of the parasympathetic nervous system otherwise known as the “rest and digest” part of your central nervous system
Alkaloid tomatine from--you guessed it--the tomato, is recognized as an immunostimulator which if one has an immune system on high alert on the daily probably does not need assistance.
I share this with you so we may all reconsider the notion of what we think of as “healthy foods”. As mentioned, many elimination diets call for eliminating nightshades. Informally, there are many in the autoimmune community who experience relief from symptoms such as body aches, joint stiffness, digestive distress, dizziness and chronic fatigue when nightshades are part of an elimination diet. I’ve experienced this to be true myself for the last 4 years. I offer this information as hope. If you or a loved one experience similar symptoms as mentioned above it may be time to rethink what “healthy” food may mean for you. If you could affect change in your life in as little as two weeks with just one action would you do it? Would you consider eliminating all nightshades, for as little as 2 weeks, to see if it could affect change in your life?
Next week’s topic is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you. Well, maybe not so much to me. Stay tuned.
Until next we meet.