It Lurks In The Dark Nightshade

Food allergies and sensitivity plague millions of unsuspecting people every day. It can manifest itself in many forms from a headache, to being rushed to the hospital, and various degrees in between. I myself have discovered just recently a sensitivity to a particular food that has been creating discomfort for most of my life. Trying to put your finger on a particular irritant can be quite mind boggling to say the least. First I thought it was fats that were causing the problem. Then I focused on eggs, then back to fats, or maybe its oils. Yeah, that must be it. Wrong! Many years I pondered the problem before settling on the term IBS. IBS is short for, I have no idea what the problem is, disease.

Then came a revelation. An idea appeared in my head. Could this be the culprit? Staring me in the face all this time and me not seeing it? I had the culprit. Although at that time I didn't know it had accomplices. Maybe that's why I couldn't put my finger on it before. The debate went on. I knew it was the source, I just couldn't prove why. The potato was my prime suspect, the unnoticed source that was there at every turn. The only evidence I had at the time was his buddy starch. Other foods have starch so why didn't they bother me as well? The trial went on in this love-hate game of pleasure and punishment.

Then a break in the case came just today. While researching another case for my lovely wife on the elusive Fibromyalgia gang I found the clue that unraveled the mystery revolving around the potato.

The real culprit is the Nightshade gang. A plant family which includes, but is not limited to, the potato, tomato, sweet and hot peppers and eggplant. People with a sensitivity to the Alkaloids in these will have a reaction to some degree to these veggies. Alkaloids themselves have brought us very powerful and useful medicines. These veggies are, for most people, safe for consumption. The toxin levels are very minute and, unless you have a sensitivity to them, will not effect you.

There are some precautions that should be taken even if you don't have a reaction to this family of veggies. The skin of the potato holds most of the toxin, but if the potato sprouts or starts to rot, the toxin spreads throughout the spud. The unripened fruit also has a higher concentration of the toxin. I guess I won't be making anymore green tomato relish, also known as piccalilli. Although I have not found any information on the seeds of these veggies you may want to avoid them as well.

Lastly, the nightshade family has been linked to calcium deficiency in the body which can lead to bone density loss. Also the toxins can build up in the body and have adverse effects later on. A very good article to read on this subject is "All about nightshades: explore the hidden hazards of your favorite food with macrobiotic nutritionist Lino Stanchich" Here is the link to this article
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KWZ/is_5_4/ai_111734421. This article proved very informative to me and my wife. More information can also be found at Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanaceae. Solanaceae, is the main family that includes nightshade.

I myself will be cutting back on these particular veggies. If you think you have a sensitivity to them you may want to do the same. Also if you have symptoms of fybromyalgia, chronic fatigue or your family has bone density loss (osteoporosis or osteopenia) or a calcium deficiency then cutting back on the nightshades may help.

Be strong and be well.

Bill