Are tomatoes why you look pregnant?
If you look pregnant after eating certain foods chances are you have IBS. But while most people look to common culprits like dairy or gluten, nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers can be a problem for some people.
Yet ‘nightshades’ are very unknown. I should know, I have an intolerance and I have to explain very clearly in restaurants what to leave out of a dish (and usually I order the plainest thing on the menu) because no one knows what nightshades are let alone that they can be causing health problems.
Symptoms can include bloating, gas, and upset stomach, as well as non-digestive issues like skin rashes or joint or breathing problems.
The nightshade family (which isn’t the same as deadly nightshade flowers includes
- tomatoes
- white potatoes (sweet are not a nightshade)
- aubergines
- peppers including pimentos and chilli (black pepper is fine)
- goji berries and golden berries
- paprika
Basically stuff that’s in everything. You can forget curries, BBQ marinades, many dressings and sauces, many stock cubes, and I’ve even seen potato starch as a coating on ready to eat chicken pieces!
I discovered I had this after seeking help for severe IBS, and while tests did bring up some infections that needed clearing up, nightshade foods remain a problem to his day. Thankfully after some gut restoration protocols I can eat pretty much anything else without issue, but with nightshades being quite an uncommon intolerance, Patient.info asked me to tell them about my experiences for a feature on their website.
Watch this video afterwards: How do you know if you have a food intolerance?
Here’s the full article, and my quotes are below:
For years Pollyanna, 35, suffered from unexplained IBS symptoms and infections. She underwent an elimination diet, initially thinking her symptoms were down to gluten intolerance. But cutting out gluten didn’t help.
“I thought of [nightshades] after reading that nightshades can be a problem for asthmatics. I have asthma and my chest was tightening,” she explains. “I tried each nightshade vegetable in turn on separate days and every time I reacted. I get very bloated three-four hours after eating, experience stomach and gut cramps, and have a tight chest, followed by diarrhoea the next day.” After excluding nightshade foods from her diet and experiencing an amelioration of symptoms, she realised nightshades were the real culprit behind her digestive issues.