Nightshade sensitivities and allergies are becoming more talked about and mainstream. Not a top 8 allergen, but nightshade allergies can literally be toxic to some and cause a mass of inflammation throughout the body. A category of food to watch for those with autoimmune diseases as inflammation is one of the main reactions. First, nightshades are vegetables and fruits that contain saponins, alkaloids, and lectins. While most people are completely fine digesting these, some are not. Often connected to gluten or dairy intolerences, symptoms of a nightshade intolerance overlap. Symptoms can include: digestive distress (heartburn, nausea, diarrhea, gas, bloating, gurgling, IBS, leaky gut), mood swings, depression, headaches, joint pain or stiffness, muscle aches, insomnia, malabsorption (iron, calcium, minerals).
Problems with nightshades are mostly seen in Caucasians and is mostly genetic. If you continue to eat nightshades while you have an allergy/intolerance to them or you eat nightshades in abundance, the rick of developing leaky gut becomes prevalent. Nightshades contain alkaloids (poisonous in large amounts) and saponins which can cause tiny tears in your digestive tracks tissue lining. Lectins can also cause stomach problems, but only in large amounts. Again, most people are fine, but if you only eat nightshades you may end up with leaky gut which can progress to other inflammatory diseases.
These chemicals in nightshades are so similarly linked to the reactions that gluten and dairy can cause, thus, those with digestive issues relating to those foods and continue to have stomach issues, may want to take a look at the amount of nightshades they are eating. Autoimmune diseases like celiac, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, crohn’s disease (or colitis), grave’s disease, multiple sclerosis, hashimoto’s disease, and lupus, may find additional relief from going nightshade free. So which food should you actually avoid?
So you see the big obvious foods are eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers! No red sauce for you! Also no white potatoes (i.e. Russet, red, baking, fingerling, etc.). However, all sweet potatoes and yams are okay! Load up on the Japanese! It’s also a misconception that peppercorn (i.e. black or white pepper, the spices) are a no-no. However, they are NOT nightshades.
Have no fear! There are always substitutions, like making red sauces out of carrots and beets, cauliflower for “mashed” white potatoes, and even ketchup, sauce, and bbq sauce from one of my favorite nightshade free companies Nomato! Being the ketchup lover that I am, I can tell you, Nomato’s ketchup is fantastic!
Feeling extra motivated? Make my HOMEMADE nightshade-free ketchup! Super easy, healthy, and veggie packed!
So tell me:
+ Are you on or have you ever tried a nightshade free diet? I would love to hear your story!
Other “What To Avoid” food allergy posts: Soy, Egg, Dairy, Corn, Tree Nut, Peanut, Shellfish, Wheat, Celiac Disease (Gluten).
Sources:
+ https://www.foodintol.com/food-sensitivities/nightshades-soy-corn-etc
+ http://janeshealthykitchen.com/beware-of-nightshades/
+ http://www.phoenixhelix.com/2013/06/23/nightshade-free-survival-guide/
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Brandy says
Thank you!!!
I have a nightshade allergy that presents itself with awful hives. We couldn’t figure it out for months because I tested positive for a white potato allergy, but they didnt test for the other things! Research finally helped us figure it out.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I’m glad you found your diagnosis!
Chelsea says
Thanks for sharing..
After 15 years of acne and every elimination diet I have tried it was taking night shades out that has FINALLY cleared up my skin. It’s not easy staying away from all this deliciousness but well worth it!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks for sharing.
Sunita Machado says
Hi, I have an allergy to nightshades, and it involves inflammation in my underarm and privates apart from a leaky gut. It’s the most painful thing to live with. Unfortunately since such a small percentage of people suffer from this, the awareness is less, and the need to find an antidote is even lesser. There is no sureshot way to address this in allopathic medicine system. The only way to live with it is to simply eliminatezll the mentioned ingredients from diet. Being an Indian, this is impossible! Thank you very much for this write up, it will help people who areclueless about this group of alllergens.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
It’s all we can do to educate and advocate for ALL food allergies!
Jennifer A says
I’ve always wondered what the nightshades were, thanks for sharing!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Great!
Deborah Davis says
Thank you for sharing. I’m Pinning and sharing.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks.
Nikki Frank-Hamilton says
Thankfully I do not think I have an issue with nightshade, I can’t imagine not being able to eat potatoes! Ug! That would be horrid! Not being able to eat gluten is enough! LOL I feel for anyone who has this issue, biggest bummer. Thanks for sharing this list, I’m sure many will come back to it again and again!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I know :/ And nightshades are sneaky and in so many more things than you would ever think!
Emily @ Recipes to Nourish says
This is so helpful. Many people have difficulty with nightshades.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I wouldn’t say that, but it is something to think about!
Amberjane says
I must check if my eldest has a nightshade allergy – she has IBS
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
They might cause some distress!
Bianca @ ElephantasticVegan says
Ohhh! I love this post! I’ve never even thought about nightshade allergies but I’m always having struggles with my tummy so it’s worth being more careful and paying more attention 🙂 Thank you Rebecca for this super-informative post! <3
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Most of these I have to watch with my reflux, haha, but totally different!
sue says
I’ve never heard of nightshade allergies Rebecca so thank you for your informative post.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Happy you’re not informed!
Kathleen says
Thanks that is very informative. I had no idea that nightshades were in so many foods.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Glad you learned something!
Amanda Nel says
I have never heard of nightshades and I am definitely subscribing to read more. It makes a lot of sense and I believe we are what we eat!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Not sure what you mean by that?
Marla says
HI Rebecca,
Excellent information. Nightshades are a big problem for many people and sadly many aren’t aware of the problems they can cause. Thanks for writing this and spreading the word. Pinned & tweeted!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Yea, it’s really under the radar right now!
Karen Grosz says
This is a terrific list of foods to avoid if you want to avoid nightshades. It is much longer than we think. Ashwagandaha is one that can be in many supplements/herbals that help with detoxifying so if you are trying to avoid nightshades it is good to be aware of it. I will keep you post as a reference for my health coaching clients.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Yup! That’s why it’s on the list! Thank you!
Megan says
Oh wow, I did not know all those foods (mainly potatoes, ALL peppers, and paprika) were night shades! When I started the Elimination Diet I just cut out eggplant and tomatoes (tomatoes are hard to give up!!) but still had gas and the gurgles, but I was still eating all the other stuff. Now I’m going to cut out those and see if it makes a difference…
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Yea! There’s more than you would think! Let me know how it goes!
Rebecca T. says
My husband is allergic to all parts of wheat, cow’s dairy, and chicken eggs, along with some legumes, mushrooms, sesame, and cranberries. I think he would lose his mind if he had to stop eating nightshades, which make up at least a third of our garden. His food allergies cause inflammation of his joints and autoimmune-appearing symptoms. Thanks for the symptom list. My husband has been complaining of several of them lately and it occurs to me that I’ve been feeding him a lot f legumes that I think he’s mot allergic to. Maybe he is. I think I will cut back on them and see what happens.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
It can be difficult to pinpoint the exact things that bother out bodies!
Randi Tisdall says
I really needed to read this- I’ve been trying a low histamine and wasn’t sure what was considered a nightshade. Also, thanks so much for the suggestion of using carrots and beets for a red sauce. I’ve been missing that Italian feel recently!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
There is nothing beets can fix 😉 The best “red” color you can get anyway!
Michele @ paleorunningmomma says
Learned about this when looking into Paleo and Whole30 but never had a need to eliminate them, so I haven’t. I definitely think and have seen people with autoimmune illness respond really well to a nightshade free diet so it’s such great info for people to have!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Yea! It’s an area not many people look into, but always something to try when all else fails!
Cristina @ I Say Nomato says
Great and informative article! I’m going to be sharing this one. Thanks for helping spread the awareness! So many people are suffering needlessly because it’s not one of the Top 8 Allergies, and is often not considered in elimination diets. I’ve had many people message me about I Say Nomato and say that they KNOW nightshades are a problem, but even their doctors are unaware of it. I need to share my story about this allergy!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Hey Cristina! I would love to have you on my Freedom Feature then! You can share and inform everyone even more! Shoot me an email!
Cailee says
This is so informative! Thanks girl! Allergens can be SO confusing!! I’m gluten, dairy and soy free (and have been for a long time now)… but when i was still figuring it all out… it was so hard to see what my body didn’t like. Thanks for the info!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Glad you found it helpful!
Kristy @ Southern In Law says
This is such an informative post! When we were figuring out my food intolerances, nightshades were one of the first groups we looked at. Whilst I can’t have a lot of the list, luckily I can have potatoes and paprika and cherries! Just not tomatoes, bell peppers and chilli!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Those cherries are not the fruit 😉
Gin says
My mom’s been having a lot of IBS symptoms, and I’m thinking of making her a low FODMAP potato soup tonight. If her problems flare up with plain old potatoes, I’m def going to suspect a nightshade allergy! Thanks for sharing this Rebecca, really helpful. 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Ah, I hope you can start ruling things out!
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
I would trade the entire rest of the list just for potatoes! But hey if you can still have sweet potatoes then I would survive 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Yea, me too! As long as I can get my Japanese on 😉
Harriet Emily says
Thank you so much for sharing all of this information Rebecca, it’s really helped me find out more about night shade allergy causing foods. It’s something I knew so little about before, so thank you for spreading the awareness!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Glad you learned something Harriet 🙂
Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious says
I was just reading about this in my nutrition class last week. I have often wondering particularly about tomatoes affecting me. I’ve always had a lot of sinus and post nasal drip issues. I thought it was related to my deviated septum and have surgery last year to correct it but it hasn’t improved and I notice it flares up when I eat certain foods. I know the post nasal drip has to be allergy, I just haven’t been able to figure out what the exact food is yet. I suspect it may be tomatoes though. If you have an insight, please let me know!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Have you ever looked into Oral Allergy Syndrome?
Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious says
No, never heard of it.
Linda @ Veganosity says
I’d be lost if I had a reaction to nightshades. Chili powder, tomatoes, potatoes….. Those things are a huge part of my diet.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
At least we can still have Japanese and Purple Sweets <3 All is not lost!
GiGi Eats says
I don’t generally eat night shades – however, every so often some cherry tomatoes fall through the cracks. They’re just so tasty but the problem with those, is if I get them, I will eat the whole pint as I drive home from the super market, ha! Then I realize that I just ate $5.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I guess you should work on self control.
Emily @ My Healthyish Life says
I naturally don’t eat many nightshades (except for the occasional tomato in salads) but I don’t follow it strictly. I think nightshades and FODMAPS can give people more digestive problems than they realize….people immediately assume gluten is the trigger.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Yea, that’s one of the big things that pisses me off about people who always assume gluten is the devil. It’s not and in most cases, even though it’s not as glamorous for the media, FODMAPs and smaller things like nightshades could be the culprit.