What in the world are nightshades? Nightshades are foods and spices such as bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, paprika, potatoes (not sweet potatoes), goji berries, jalapenos, and red peppers. Although nightshades tend to be more problematic for people who have autoimmune disease, many people who don’t have autoimmune disease or other illnesses react to nightshades as well.
Nightshades contain lectins and can cause or exacerbate intestinal permeability, aka leaky gut. Once we have a leaky gut, particles such as toxins and bacteria can pass through the lining of our intestines and enter our bloodstream causing our immune system to go rogue attacking them. This leads to inflammation and other autoimmune symptoms and health problems. Consequently, nightshades are a category of foods eliminated on The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) to give our guts an opportunity to heal.
A couple years back, after my body was healed and no longer in a state of chronic inflammation, I started noticing the joints in my fingers were swollen and sore. I couldn’t figure out what may have been causing it until I noticed that the flavor of bone broth I was drinking every morning had added tomatoes to their recipe. I switched to another nightshade free flavor, and the inflammation went away over a course of a few weeks. Many people claim that it takes longer to heal from a nightshade exposure than gluten.
People who have Arthritis, gout, an autoimmune disease, or other inflammatory conditions might want to consider eliminating nightshades as a trial for 30 days to see if it improves their symptoms. Keep in mind, people who have inflammation may also be triggered by not only nightshades, but dairy or gluten for example, so eliminating nightshades only may not lead to healing. Participating in an elimination diet to avoid foods known to cause inflammation, allowing the body to heal, and slowly introducing foods back in so you can see how your body reacts helps us discover the best healing plan for our body and the foods that will keep our symptoms at bay. Above all of the foods eliminated on AIP, many people aren’t able to reintroduce nightshades successfully.
I continue to eliminate nightshades as part of my customized healing plan. This recipe for nightshade free ketchup is one of my favorites that I have been making for a few years. This “Ketchup” is made from beets, carrots, onions, honey, salt, cloves, and apple cider vinegar. Not only it is nightshade free to avoid inflammation and a leaky gut, but the beets help our body detox naturally. I love it and so does my toddler! Get the recipe here.
