That doesn’t mean we should all stop eating them. Solanaceous plants have gotten a bad rap lately on TikTok and celebrity-preferred detox diets, but unless you have an allergy or intolerance, you don’t need to remove them from your diet. In fact, eggplant forms part of the Mediterranean diet, one of the healthiest diets in the world.
So why do some foods containing nightshades make some people sick?
Enter the complex (some might say exciting) world of food sensitivities.
Identifying food sensitivities
People often claim that certain foods cause discomfort. However, it can be frustrating when a standard test comes out negative. There may be no disease to diagnose, nor large-scale studies to formally prove its cause.
If this sounds familiar, you may have a food intolerance. Examples include having diarrhea after eating gluten without celiac disease, or vomiting every time you eat tofu despite having a negative allergy test.
Is it possible that your doctor isn’t looking at the right place at the right time? the study A paper published in Nature in 2021 explores that question. The researchers injected solutions of foods that commonly cause sensitivities, such as wheat and soy, into the colon of healthy people and patients who had symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome after eating certain foods.
In healthy people, most of the time nothing happens.
But scientists used a colonoscope to see how the intestines of people with irritable bowel syndrome became inflamed minutes after the injection. Microscopically, these patients had more mast cells, the immune cells that trigger allergic reactions, near the gut nerve fibers. However, both of these patients tested negative for food allergy by routine skin and blood tests.
How many other people have this visceral reaction? Perhaps the pain that many people experience after eating certain foods is due to invisible inflammation in the gut. I have.
Other food sensitivities, such as fermentable carbohydrates and FODMAPs, can be caused by the food itself. Effect on intestinal gas.
Truth about Solanaceae
Well, let’s clear the air about eggplant.
It is a member of the nightshade family of plants. glycoalkaloid — A potentially toxic compound that protects plants from pests and herbivores. There are some nightshades that are not edible, including tobacco, mandrake, and, of course, the deadly nightshade (also known as belladonna). They should not be ingested as they can cause poisoning with symptoms such as blurred vision, hallucinations and even death.
On social media, some people claim that all solanaceous plants are poisonous. But if that were true, most of us would have been in big trouble long ago.
The solanaceous plant sold at the grocery store contains trace amounts of glycoalkaloids, but not enough to poison us (thankfully, taking ketchup from me alive is not enough). never will). Two exceptions are green or sprouting potatoes. They contain high concentrations of the alkaloid solanine, which can be toxic to humans if eaten. If your potatoes have light green spots or sprouts, cut those pieces off before cooking and eating. Potatoes with large green areas are best discarded.
and some research in mice There are suggestions that nightshades may exacerbate inflammatory bowel disease, but don’t worry. The researchers did not conclude that the Solanaceae plant is involved in human diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis, as some have suspected.
potentially “Anti-Inflammatory” DietThe solanaceous plant-free product has gone viral online for people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease. To date, no studies have actually demonstrated that such a diet can reduce inflammation in these patients.
But could nightshades cause food intolerance? New research suggests that solanine and other proteins in nightshades can activate mast cells. , it turns out that it may be the cause of troubling symptoms in “sensitive” people.
Rebecca Quan, an internist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, has analyzed the role of nightshades in gastrointestinal disease. Due to the potential impact on mast cells, eggplant said, “After exposure to these chemicals, they can cause not only gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea, but also systemic symptoms such as fatigue and malaise.” Yes,” she said in an email interview.
Much more research is needed in the general population to get a clearer answer and one day to develop treatments for food intolerances involving nightshades.
What we want our patients to know
You know your body better than I do. So, as long as your diet is not harmful, I will work with your symptoms and support you in avoiding foods that cause your symptoms. However, I worry when some people start cutting out large amounts of food without consulting a dietitian first. It’s always safest to consult a professional who can create a systematic approach to identifying potential sensitivities while maintaining a healthy, balanced diet.
