2. Nightshades—Just Side Effects?
Medical science doesn't yet fully recognize or understand nightshade sensitivity. With a little logical thinking, we can skip over this gap and still grasp...
5. James Roddick Explores Glycoalkaloids
For three decades beginning in 1970 James Roddick of the University of Exeter explored the biochemistry of nightshade glycoalkaloids. Beginning with alpha-tomatine in 1974,...
9. The Lectin Hypothesis
Potatoes and other nightshade vegetables—and actually most vegetables—have yet another complicated class of molecular ingredient: lectins. These are proteins that bind to carbohydrates. Like...
Nightshade Sensitivity, a Nutritionist’s Perspective
Talking with Carolyn Denton, MA, LN
After years combing digestive health research and finding almost nothing about nightshade sensitivity, it was a relief to finally...
11. The Autoimmune Plot Thickens— Tobacco and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Autoimmune diseases are poorly understood. The elevator pitch explanation is that your immune system gets confused and overactive, and then attacks your body—a very...
3. The History of Nightshades as Poisons
Only a few hundred years ago basic botanical knowledge was widespread. Before modern agriculture you had to know your plants if you were going...
1. The Trouble With Nightshades. Maybe.
A Field Guide to the Curious Clues of Nightshade Sensitivity
My family has been cooking without potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers for 10 years now. I...
Elimination Diets and Food Sensitivity
(A rough introduction to the intriguing, evolving, and sometimes controversial science of food sensitivity)
If you’re wary of elimination diets simply because of the word...
4. Glycoalkaloids & Tropane Alkaloids
Early chemical discoveries
Unknown to the ancients, some interesting chemistry underlies the mystical properties of nightshades. Glycoalkaloids are complex organic molecules that tend towards high...
12. The Chemical Complexity and Relatedness of Other Nightshades
Tobacco is clearly the nightshade with the thickest rap sheet with respect to human health problems. Tobacco smoke is known to contain more than...