[earthmama369]

OK, talk to me about foods in the nightshade family, because it's looking like ds (15 months) is allergic to them.

:

He's had tomatoes before, but we had a pizza last week with Trader Joe's pizza sauce on it -- concentrated stuff -- and he broke out in a rash all around his mouth and down his chin, and his next wet diaper caused a contact rash. Both went away within a day or two, but were very noticeable before that. I thought maybe the sauce was just too strong.

A few days later he picked a cherry tomato from the garden -- which he's done a million times this summer -- and developed a red, raised welt where two seeds and some tomato guts sat on his chin for a few minutes before I noticed and wiped them off. That one scabbed over and took nearly a week to heal. You can still see it.

So tonight we had potato and broccoli soup and wouldn't you know it? A red rash all over his chin and butt again. And then I realized that potatoes and tomatoes are both in the nightshade family.

What else should I keep away from him if he's allergic to nightshades? And please tell me lots of stories about how your kiddo grew out of that allergy, because those are two of my favorite foods!!

 

[elmh23]

I don't know about nightshades but couldn't read and not write.

 

[earthmama369]

Thanks.

 

[mtn.mama]

I'm anxiously awaiting the response to your thread... Our baby can do potatoes in my breastmilk but tomatoes are highly suspicious. I'm pretty sure that eggplant is a nightshade. Are peppers?

 

[slo town mom]

and so is eggplant

 

[Michael Fowler]

earthmama,

Nightshades should be of greatest concern to mothers for a number of reasons, I will list a few.

1. Birth defects: research has shown a correlation between potato consumption and and spina bifida.
2. Miscarriage: When monkeys were feed nightshade they would miscarry or fail to become pregnant.
3. cell disruption: solanine in nightshade is a cell disruptor, it can cause the cell to break open and bleed. Often this is seen in bloody stools as the small intestine is very thin, especially in very young children and sometimes in adults.

Allergies to nightshades are extremely rare, as they are considered to be one of the allergy free foods. Allergies are normally associated with puffy, watery eyes, puffing of the face, nasal drainage, etc.

I personally will not eat them anymore as they cause me great harm. Women who are trying to become pregnant should avoid them at all costs as nightshades contain several neruo-toxins and effect the construction of the major nerves in the first 30 days.

Nightshades are potato, tomato, peppers, gogi berries and eggplant.

Hope this helps!

Michael Fowler

 

[menomena]

Sorry, Michael, but I believe you are both alarmist and incorrect. I also think it's really arrogant to come into a forum and start spouting random and false advice to women who have already been around the allergy wheel a few times. You probably won't read this, but man did it strike a raw nerve with me this morning.

ANYWAY.

Tomatoes are actually fairly high on the list of *allergenic* foods, especially in children. They are in the short list with citrus and strawberries after the top 8. Potatoes seem to be regarded to have a relatively low-allergy risk. ETA: link to list

As far as intolerance, I think nightshades are fairly common. They are inflammatory for many people - which is why many people who suffer from arthritis are advised to go on a nightshade-free diet with a pretty good success rate.

Personally, tomatoes were our first OBVIOUS trigger food for DD1. That is, we noticed an immediate correlation to a rash on her face and yucky poop. We've taken them in and out and in and out for almost two years now. This last pass, we've been eating them exclusively cooked or fermented and peeled, cored and seeded. We seemed to be doing okay. DD's eczema was actually clearing for the first time in months and months and months. However, yesterday, I had a bunch of tomatoes to cook and I didn't have the time to peel, core and seed them. We ate them in the form of spaghetti sauce (also had eggplant for the first time yesterday, not good timing, I know...) DD's eczema is flared again, though not as bad as it can get, and she has borderline diarrhea. I consider that a trial of seeds & skin and I regard it as a fail. For now, we're taking all nightshades back out, just as a precaution. She seems to do okay on potatoes, as long as they are peeled. Many people who have sensitivities to tomatoes and/or potatoes have a greater issue with the skin.

Who knows, though... DD2 gets terrible gas from peppers. I think nightshades are just a bad idea all around for our family. Add it to the list. We are now back to the most restrictive we've been exclusive of an TED. Our no list is: dairy, soy, corn, gluten (including special care to avoid x-contamination), tree nuts, peanuts, all legumes actually (including green beans), all seeds, citrus, garlic, turmeric, artificial colors and preservatives, coffee, chocolate, sugar... And now, nightshades. Woo. But, her skin's almost clear and her sleep is better, and that is so worth it.

 

[Panserbjorne]

Hey, Sarah! Yes, you can grow out of them. What he is reacting to is likely not a protein (they are low protein foods) but a food chemical (solanine) instead. It's a toxic reaction as far as I know and not a true allergy. This is bad news because it means avoidance of the whole family of foods FOR NOW. What is also means is that something isn't quite right with his gut function that the chemicals are causing a problem. It is not likely an allergic reaction though-most do classify them together. There are some things you can do that are thought to help increase his ability to handle this.

Beyond that nightshades are known to exacerbate inflammatory conditions, so it makes sense that after one big reaction (the pizza) smaller things would be a trigger for him.

A fun little fact....supposedly there is a genetic variance that allows some people to detoxify solanine more efficiently than others. IF you are reacting there is likely a genetic variance. So in small amounts they may pose no issue-but you need him to be able to clear his system first. There are ways to open detox pathways to facilitate the process....I will dig to find which pathways solanine is detoxed through.

The reason it is a gut issue is that it's supposed to broken down in the gut....when it's NOT it becomes toxic. I wonder if digestive enzymes would be a good step for him? They would break down any bacteria or fungus that is potentially impairing digestion, and also break down the chemicals (especially if phenols were used...)

I have more thinking to do and I'll get back to you!

 

[Panserbjorne]

Oh, man. Nevermind. This thread is wicked old.

So, if you're still around....what's going on with the nightshades?

 

[Michael Fowler]

Quote:

Michael, but I believe you are both alarmist and incorrect. I also think it's really arrogant to come into a forum and start spouting random and false advice to women who have already been around the allergy wheel a few times.

I have spent over three years researching the toxins in nightshades, I do not think I am arrogant to purport known science. We should welcome new points of view and opinions, all the while remaining moderately skeptical.

We live in a world where we consider nearly everything to be harmful. It should not come as a surprise that when potatoes are used as a insecticide for crops that someone would not wonder: if that very same said toxin that is useful for killing insects might it be harmful to children and or adults.

Finally, I did not imply that you or anybody else did not understand the nature of allergies, but was merely trying to show a few of the marked signs between the two reactions to help aid in understanding which is which. To be fair you did ask for information about nightshades.

Quote:

OK, talk to me about foods in the nightshade family, because it's looking like ds (15 months) is allergic to them.

Poisonous nature of nightshades: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv...urosci.box.485
http://books.google.com/books?id=caT...um=3&ct=result
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/intro/bio_tox.htm

Nightshades contain five neurotoxins: Solanine, Atropine, Scopolamine, nicotine, and more. Nightshades toxins from potatoes are being used to create new birth control pills:
http://www.nwo.nl/nwohome.nsf/pages/NWOP_5NLCKN

It it a well known and accepted fact that nicotine takes years to harm the body, the same true of the solanine. When people are aware of how these toxins effect them they can choose to continue to ingest them or avoid them.

Research has shown that goats and rabbits have enzymes, atropinesterase, that can convert nightshade toxins, other mammals cannot thus they remain volatile within the system.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/art...?artid=1078559

Inflammation is due to direct chemical reaction. It is true people react in varying degrees and can believe they have built up a tolerance to the toxin. Solanine is a tropane alkaloids as is caffeine and cocaine tolerance to these alkaloids is really acceptable suffering.
http://books.google.com/books?id=9zR...um=7&ct=result

Therefore, the flareup maybe allergenic or it maybe from nightshade toxins. Armed with such knowledge one can test to see which it is.

Michael Fowler

 

[menomena]

I think coming to this forum and immediately posting about consumption of nightshades and risk of birth defeats and miscarriage is alarmist.

I think stating that nightshade are not allergenic is false.

I do welcome new viewpoints. I don't welcome the way you came in here and just sort of blasted your viewpoint all over everyone. Sorry. I'm a bit touchy about being told that the foods my kids react to "aren't allergenic." It just gets old after awhile. Perhaps it's not an IgE allergy; doesn't make it any less of a response.

 

[menomena]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Fowler To be fair you did ask for information about nightshades.

To be clear, I am not the OP...

 

[menomena]

From: http://www.allallergy.net/fapaidfind.cfm?cdeoc=1547

Quote:

Although tomatoes are a commonly consumed food, severe allergic reactions to tomatoes are unusual or rarely reported. Previously reported allergic manifestations to tomato include urticaria/angioedema, dermatitis, perioral dermatitis, Oral Allergy Syndrome, rhinitis, and abdominal pain. Tomato pollen may trigger rhinitis and/or conjunctivitis. This study reports on two patients with significant immediate hypersensitivity reactions to tomato. Both adults experienced laryngeal edema and one had anaphylaxis. (Zacharisen 2002 ref.5806 3)

(emphasis mine - to show that it may be rare to have a SEVERE response, but it's fairly common to have issues with tomatoes that manifest in traditionally "allergenic" ways.)

 

[earthmama369]

I saw the thread title and thought, "Hey, I know something about nightshade allergies, maybe I can help!" And then I realized it was the thread I posted myself almost a year ago.

OK, I'm skipping over the whole pregnancy thing, because this was clearly a post about a child already born. I'm not pregnant and I have no problem digesting nightshades. I'm also not planning on becoming pregnant, oh, ever again. So it's a non-issue.

On the inflammatory note, I've also discovered that nightshades are a common trigger for fibromyalgia flareups. We're not dealing with fibromyalgia here, but I thought I'd throw that tidbit out there since this is turning into an interesting thread.

So we're at almost a year later, and ds (now 2) is still reacting to nightshades. Potatoes are the worst one for him. He has both a skin reaction (welts at contact site and rash on face) and a gut reaction (hours of screaming in pain, diarrhea for 1-2 weeks). Not fun. He's sensitive enough that if I eat half a french fry and then nurse him several hours later, he'll be screaming for upwards of 8 hours, rashy for a week, and will have diarrhea for 2 weeks. So he and I have gotten very creative with our diets, which were formerly vegetarian with a heavy preference for Indian and Italian. We've added seafood into our diet and do a lot of Japanese now.

We've found some surprising foods we need to avoid because of "hidden" ingredients. Tuna fish, for example. Most canned and pouch tuna fish, whether in water or oil, has vegetable broth in the ingredients. Bouillon cubes are another one -- many have tomato paste and peppers. Most brands of mayonnaise have paprika in them. Some crackers have cayenne. And pre-shredded cheese is often rolled in potato starch to keep it from sticking. We avoid anything with "spice(s)" in the ingredients unless I've contacted the company and have been assured there is no paprika, cayenne, red pepper flakes, etc., in the product.

After reviewing everything with our doctor (a Western-educated DO with a strong holistic bent), we're quite sure this stems from birth damage. DS spent three days in NICU at birth and was immediately on an IV with high doses of antibiotics. He wasn't able to nurse until he was two days old. He was hospitalized again at 8 days old for another three days, with another IV and another round of antibiotics. His gut was never virgin and never had a chance to establish good flora. He's also allergic to penicillin now. It sucks, but we chose the best route we had out of a crappy situation. He's showing no signs of cognitive or developmental delays, which was the main goal at the time after saving his life.

He's on a daily probiotic now and he drinks kefir and kombucha as well. I also take probiotics and I'm committed to nursing as long as he's willing. Our doctor suggested all of these, which matches what I had decided to do myself. Our hope is that his gut will heal and he will "grow out of" these allergies.

 

[Michael Fowler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by earthmama369 He's sensitive enough that if I eat half a french fry and then nurse him several hours later, he'll be screaming for upwards of 8 hours, rashy for a week, and will have diarrhea for 2 weeks.

Hi earthmama, I have never heard that solanine would be in mothers milk. They did research with cattle and found none in milk. This is news to be sure.

As far as "growing out of it" when I was as child I was bleeding from my intestines due to nightshades. My mother put me on chicken and rice and I finally started to heal. I was starving to death due to malabsorption. My first five years of life were mostly in the hospital and in pain. It was not till I was in my 30's and that I realized the cause was nightshades as they were ruining my health.

Presently, by maintaining a strict diet that avoids nightshades, when a small amount is present in say "canned tuna" it has little to no effect. Every single person that I have taken off of nightshades has reported improved health. I am deeply sorry to hear of your child's severe reactions and pain, it nearly killed me. It is my goal to increase nightshade awareness to help other children that are effected as I was.

Now, my health is wonderful so long as nightshades are avoided.

 

[earthmama369]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Fowler Hi earthmama, I have never heard that solanine would be in mothers milk. They did research with cattle and found none in milk. This is news to be sure.

I can't attest to what, specifically, ds is reacting to in the nightshades. But yes, his reactions to my breastmilk after I eat nightshades are very clear and match everything that happens when he's directly exposed, barring welts from direct contact. He gets a rash of fine bumps up both cheeks, intestinal pain, and diarrhea. Fun times.

We haven't run into any signs of intestinal bleeding or malabsorption beyond the effects of diarrhea and ds obviously not being able to digest anything effectively when he's having a reaction. Because we started isolating the problem as soon as it occurred, he's never had any sustained period of exposure. (Understanding that before Oct. 2006, he ate nightshades with no problems whatsoever.)

I do wish I knew what triggered his reaction to start then and why it wasn't present when we first introduced the foods, but the current working theory, at least, is that first exposures often don't produce a reaction. It can take some time for the body to build up steam. I'd love to know for certain someday, though.

 

[babycarrier]

This thread caught my eye. My son had a very reactive allergy to the nightshades - and I didn't realize how hidden they were - all sorts of foods. They most certainly passed from my breastmilk to him.

He did outgrow the allergy - to the best of my knowledge. No more rashes, eczema gone. We used daily probiotics and chiropractic work regularly. He nursed for 2 years.

What caught my eye was your statement that he was in NICU. Jack was also - a week. He had a lot of medicine in that week and it surely took a toll on his system.

Just wanted to send a

your way

 

[mommydancer]

Okay everybody, play nicely with Mr. Fowler, he has obviously been through a significant, traumatic experience and his efforts (although a bit "alarmist") are well intended. I believe he's joined our forum for the sole purpose of warning us about nightshades.

Dear Mr. Fowler,
Please read other allergy-related posts, discover the significance of the virgin chicken which must be sacrificed by the light of a blue moon, and get back to us.

Earthmama...Glad you seem to have a handle on that problem.