How to Heal your Immunity with Nightshade Foods

Where do we stand on nightshades for your health? Are they dangerous, or are they helpful? Did you know that the same phytotoxin found in nightshades can also be found in non-nightshade foods, like blueberries, apples, and beets? Read on so we can work together to get a comprehensive understanding of nightshades.

What’s your experience with nightshades?

For some of you, you may have cut out nightshades entirely – and you might be attributing this development to your overall autoimmune recovery. That is great to hear, and I commend you for being able to take that step.

Many might be wondering if you have to stay off nightshades forever, or if you can start to incorporate them into your diet. The vast majority of people have started coming to me and asking if there is something inherently wrong with nightshades – or wondering if there something in them that is inherently problematic for our bodies.

Do we need to avoid nightshades entirely, and is there evidence to suggest this? Today, I want to look into the science so that we can build some solid recommendations out of the data that exists. First, though, we will need an introduction to the world of nightshades.

What are nightshades?

If you have been sitting here wondering, “well, what are nightshades?” Nightshades are plants, and there are food versions and non-food versions of them. There are lots of them, and nightshades include:

• Potatoes
• Eggplant
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Tobacco
• Belladonna
• Jimsonweed
• Datura

Of these, some of them have very dark berries that come from them. Especially the non-food varieties of nightshades, like the last few I mentioned,  are known to have toxins. Plainly stated, they will kill you if you consume them in great quantities.

How are nightshades “poisonous”?

When we compare nightshades with being poisonous, or having toxins, we are referring to the fact that these types of plants are quite high in alkaloids. Alkaloids are plant metabolites which are essentially very active chemicals.

Even in small concentrations, these active chemicals can have a great effect on both humans and animals. Nightshades themselves have several different kinds of alkaloids at work within them. These include:

Tropanes

Tropanes can be found in many non-food nightshade plants, but they are not found in nightshade plants that are used for food. Atropa, which is a strong anticholinergic, has been used in drugs in order to reverse poisoning from pesticides or biological weapons, dilate the pupils or to stop allergies.

We can find tropanes in:

• Atropa
• Mandrake
• Belladonna
• Stramonium

Nicotine

As I previously mentioned, one of the non-food nightshades that we can find is tobacco – which, of course, has nicotine in it. Believe it or not, nicotine can also be found in eggplants! But the results are so microscopic, you would need thousands and thousands of them to get even a few milligrams of nicotine.

Nicotine is an insecticide that plants make in order to keep insects away – and to ward off other things that might destroy them.

Capsaicin

When it comes to things that have heat, or are spicy, it can come back to this type of alkaloid. Beyond being “too spicy” for some, capsaicin is pretty well harmless. In most cases, it is good for you. It can:

• Kill low-grade infections
• Boost metabolism
• Help our immune system
• Reverse autoimmune gastritis

Solanine

All of the concerns around nightshade food plants really revolve around solanine – one might say that it is the sole culprit! We can find solanine in:

• White potatoes (not sweet potatoes)
• Eggplant
• Paprika
• Peppers
• Goji berries
• Tomatillos

You might have noticed one nightshade that is missing from that list: tomatoes. Tomatoes are often categorized as nightshades, which they are, but they do not contain solanine.

Goji berries, tomatillos, and peppers merely have trace amounts – none that would be particularly relevant. This leaves us with two: potatoes and eggplants.

Potatoes and Eggplants

When we think about solanine, we need to think about chlorophyll production. This means that the more green something is, the more solanine you can have in it.

Potato leaves being potentially the worst offender that we can find of this rule. Potato leaves are green, have a fair amount of chlorophyll, and also a fair amount of solanine.

Some types of eggplant commonly produce solanine, such as the European eggplant (the more stout version of eggplant). Funnily enough, the Asian eggplant (the longer form) does not produce solanine.

What you might notice when you cut open a European eggplant, that there is a thin layer of green – this is the solanine.

Potatoes are the same way. When potatoes are really old, they start to get green – and they start sprouting. In those cases, they can have solanine in them. They can also have amounts which could be a concern for you and your health.

In theory, you could take some green, sprouted, nasty potatoes and consume four to six pounds of them raw. This would result in a dangerous dose of solanine in your system, there is no debate about that.

Where else can we find solanine?

This is the strange thing about solanine. There are many non-nightshade foods that contain solanine. If one was concerned that their dietary intake of solanine could be harmful, it would be good to know that it is found in many foods not thought of as nightshades. These include:

• Apples
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Beets
• Okra
• Artichokes
• Huckleberries

Solanine Symptoms

So, what’s the deal with solanine? The first symptom that people connected with solanine was arthritis³. This has now been studied in greater detail, and there really is no published research that links these two together – it just does not exist.

What happens with solanine is that it is often badly absorbed, your body is not equipped to absorb it effectively.

There is concern with megadoses of solanine in your system, to where it could become an issue. This would be in great quantities, and echoes my previous point that you should avoid eating potato leaves!

Understanding Plant Toxins

Everything we have talked about to this point, is part of a larger conversation about phytotoxins (plant toxins). Phytotoxins themselves are odd, simply because they can be found in the same categories as plants that have phytonutrients. We see a huge number of different chemicals which are found in plant foods, and many of them are known to have beneficial effects.

The main takeaway here is that phytochemicals can all be toxic at high levels, but all have been shown to have health-promoting properties in levels commonly associated with produce. These include:

• Phenolics (both phenolic acids and flavonoids)
• Glycoalkaloids (which include nightshades)
• Carotenoids

Where do we find these chemicals?

Here’s a quick breakdown of where we can find these different chemicals:

We can find phenolic acids in:

• Apples
• Potatoes
• Grape seeds
• Oats
• Coffee
• Kiwis
• Cinnamon
• Plums
• Cherries

We can find flavonoids in:

• Onions
• Bananas
• Garbanzo beans
• Sweet potatoes
• Chili peppers
• Lemons
• Parsley
• Strawberries
• Cabbage

We can find carotenoids in:

• Carrots
• Cantaloupe
• Kale (and other dark, leafy greens)

Big Idea: Nightshades, Alkaloids, and Solanine

Could solanine be good for us? There have been some studies done which suggest that solanine could provide a positive benefit to our bodies^4,5. Test tube and animal studies suggest that solanine can inhibit many types of cancer, such as:

• Breast
• Lung
• Esophageal
• Prostate

These studies have shown improved immune responses that could lower the risks of autoimmunity and chronic inflammation.

The Verdict On Nightshades

If avoiding nightshades has worked for you, and has helped you feel better, please feel free to continue avoiding them. At the same time, you may reconsider and you may introduce them when it works for you and your health.

Ultimately, cutting out nightshades means cutting out plenty of other plants that can do your body good. It is about identifying where we can find solanine, and avoiding things like eating sprouted potatoes or eating them in great quantities.

Your Diet, Your Life, Your Health

We have talked a lot today about phytotoxins, phytonutrients, and how you can really take hold of your diet and understand more about what makes your body tick.

Speaking of learning more about your body, please consider taking the Thyroid Quiz today (Click Here). It will help give you a much better idea, and a bigger picture, about your overall health. Take the quiz, and take good care of yourself today.

P.S. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you now:

1. Schedule a Thyroid Second Opinion with me, Dr. C, Click Here for Details
2. Need a Personalized Supplement? Check out My Thyroid Specific Formulations
3. Download and use my Favorite Recipes Cookbook Here
4. Check out my podcast Medical Myths, Legends, and Fairytales Here

Dr. Alan Glen Christianson (Dr. C) is a Naturopathic Endocrinologist and the author of The NY Times bestselling Adrenal Reset Diet, The Metabolism Reset Diet and The Thyroid Reset Diet.

Dr. C’s gift for figuring out what really works has helped hundreds of thousands of people reverse thyroid disease, lose weight, diabetes, and regain energy. Learn more about the surprising story that started his quest.