Could Deadly Nightshades be affecting your gut?

Even though the low Fodmap diet may have removed most of your IBS symptoms, maybe something is still affecting your digestive system. There are various possibilities but in today’s video I want to specifically talk about deadly nightshades and the part they may be playing in your continued issues.

Deadly Nightshades

Today, I want to talk to you about the deadly nightshade plants, in particular, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers or you might call them capsicums. These deadly nightshades – we know that there are some plants that are actually really toxic, and could kill us potentially – but these particular vegetables and fruits, we eat them but not everybody should be eating them because they contain glycoalkaloids. This is a natural pesticide for the plant to protect it against animals, and we are animals, so we do have to be careful about our levels that we’re eating, and our own particular sensitivity to these glycoalkaloids.

If we take potatoes in particular, most of the glycoalkaloids are focused in the skin, so if you peel them, you are reducing the amount. Also, if you get a green potato or a potato with a small green section, always cut that off because the glycoalkaloids are really focused in the green parts, the unripe parts, and also in the eyes or the sprouting part of potato – always cut that out because that’s another focused area.

Cooking really doesn’t change the quantity of glycoalkaloids in these vegetables and fruits, but the worst is frying especially if the oil is reused. Do not reuse any oil, it increases the amount of glycoalkaloids in fried potatoes. So if you’re eating them at an outside establishment, not in your home, then you don’t know if they’re reusing the oil. They probably are, over and over again, so that could really focus that natural pesticide in the potato that you love so much.

Now, with the others, egg plants, for example, the skins contain hardly any. Most of it is in the flesh and the seeds. And with tomatoes, the greener ones have more, just like the green part of the potato. And if they’re sun-ripened, they have less than if you artificially ripen them. Those are a few tips if you want to eat them because actually, those four can make up a major part of our diet even though we’re restricted in the amount of them. We can eat all of those four vegetables and/or fruits, if you call tomato a fruit. The sweet potato does not contain these glycoalkaloids like the potato does so you can eat that quite safely.

These warnings are really only for those of us who are sensitive to these deadly nightshades. And some people can get quite sick from them immediately when they eat them, and that’s a very clear reaction and they should stay away from them. But for the rest of us, that reaction might be slower, more accumulative. We know that it affects arthritis, fibromyalgia, and IBS, and also reflux or GERD. But if you’re listening to me because you have got IBS, it might be something to look at if you still have symptoms even though you think you’re being really strict on this low FODMAP diet. It might be something to consider cutting out for a few days to see if there’s an improvement. I repeat, that’s potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and bell peppers or capsicums. Take those out and see if it improves your symptoms.