If you are a person that struggles with food sensitivities, allergies, autoimmune disease, inflammatory bowel disease or leaky gut syndrome, then there is a chance that a class of vegetables called nightshade vegetables could be contributing to your health condition.

I know you may be saying to yourself, “seriously, what can I eat?” From gluten-free to grain-free, no meat to all meat and back again — it’s difficult to wrap the brain around one more group of foods to put on the “watch” list.

As you will learn in this article, nightshade vegetables are completely healthy for most people, but for a few it can act as a trigger similar to wheat or dairy and cause major immune reactions. The bottom line is this: When it comes to each plant in the nightshade family, everyone’s body responds in a unique way. Those that are at risk often include those that have leaky gut, autoimmune diseases or have other gut-related illnesses.

There are specific signs of intolerance you can look for, so if you have leaky gut or autoimmune disease you will want to look out for any warning signs after eating nightshades such as joint pain, digestive issues, reddening of your skin or any type of inflammatory response.

So, what are nightshades and why they would they cause a reaction?
Nightshade vegetables are part of the Solanaceae (Solanum dulcamara) plant family, which contains about 98 genera and well over 2,000 different species.

The family Solanaceae variety extends well beyond vegetables to include innocuous flowers, such as morning glories, and even toxic herbs, such as Atropa belladonna. There are even nightshade trees. Still, the vegetables are a prominent part of the family, so much so, that Solanaceae is sometimes called the “potato family” or “tomato family.

While we will look more into a detailed list of nightshade vegetables in a moment, here are the main edible nightshade members that you will want to be familiar with:

Potatoes
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Peppers

Should you avoid nightshades? Those exhibiting apparent sensitivities to nightshade vegetables often have similar complaints as gluten sensitive reactions. Nightshade vegetable sensitivity reactions can include:

irritable bowel disorders and other gastrointestinal issues
heartburn
nerve sensitization
joint pain

There is no direct evidence of nightshade vegetables causing arthritis, or of their elimination relieving symptoms. However, anecdotal evidence would suggest that some people have experienced a decrease of symptoms, so I do not take these experiences lightly. People frequently have joint pain associated with nightshade sensitivity.

Clearly, nightshade vegetables are not universally dangerous. Many of them have strong health benefits to offer the body. Even the alkaloid compounds cannot be completely cast aside — capsaicin can be a useful analgesic, and even nicotine has been evaluated for its potential to reduce risks of disease.

However, if you are suffering from symptoms that could be tied to nightshade sensitivity, taking the time to eliminate them from your diet and give your body a chance to recover might save a lifetime of pain and discomfort. And, as with all foods, choosing the best-quality versions and utilizing them in a whole foods diet is key.

Also, discovering the root causes of inflammation is of paramount importance here. Nerve interference due to Subluxation is a major contributor to every type of dysfunction in the body, including inflammatory responses. Finding and eliminating nerve interference is a successful lifestyle strategy for healthy humans.

Merely avoiding specific foods does not correct the underlying dysfunction that is creating the problem. An elimination diet will expose the offending substance, but not correct the cause. We are regularly exposed to toxins, traumas and thoughts that cause Subluxation, so regular Chiropractic adjustments are needed to stay at our optimum level of health.