Nightshades Vegetables 🍆

Nightshades Vegetables 🍆

I never really learned about nightshades until recently, by reading ‘“The Plant Paradox” by

The nightshade family includes tomatoes, eggplants, bell peppers, potatoes, chili peppers, tomatillos, and Goji berries (I am not referring here to the European black nightshade, which is one of the most toxic plants in the world!) 🍅🍆

The name "nightshades" describes how these plants prefer to grow and flower in the night and shade ✨

Most members of the nightshade family are native to parts of Central and South America and were brought to Europe in the early 16th century by Spanish Conquistadors 😎

At first, Europeans feared tomatoes, even the Italians, for 200 years. They then found a way to cook them properly, which involved removing the skin and seeds of the tomatoes and cooking them 🍅🇮🇹

Indeed, nightshades contain lectins and small amounts of alkaloids, which act as natural pesticides. These molecules are a natural self-defense tool for the fruit/veggie so that it won't be eaten by predators or contaminated by bacteria’s/mushrooms. They can be digested but tend to cause trouble in our digestive system  & health 🤓

Some of these negative side effects include gas, bloating, diarrhea, heartburn, nausea, and joint pain due to inflammation. Nightshade intolerance varies because everyone's digestive system is unique 🙏🏼

When nightshades are fully ripe, these self-defense molecules are less present, and we can tolerate them more easily ☀️

However, it's always possible to limit their effect by removing the skin and seeds from the peppers or tomatoes and by pressure-cooking eggplants and potatoes 🫑🌶️🥔

So let's focus on seasonality, quantity (avoid eating only nightshades at every meal), and cooking to enjoy and optimize all their nutrient benefits! 🤍

Love, S ❤️