waves arms Me! Me!

I developed horrible Rosacia (it's an ugly red bumpy rash on a person's cheeks, chin and nose) when I was pregnant with my first child. I had NEVER had bad skin, even at as a teen and to suddenly get this crap on my face at 37 sucked.

It got worse and worse over 5 pregnancies in 6 years. After I had my last child (was it the pregnancy hormones?), went Low Carb (was it the gluten?), lost 100lbs (was it a hormone imbalace cause by obesity??) I was HOPING it would go away - no dice.

THEN I went Paleo and dropped all nightshades and my Rosacia wet away COMPLETELY in about a month. It was astounding.

I had a similar experience with arthritis: I have damaged menisci in both knees and blamed my excessive pain and swelling on hormones and/or my weight. When I gave up nightshades the improvement was startling. I can now do (medium deep) squats and walk long distances without having to ice my knees. i used to hobble around like an old person!

I tried eliminating them a few years back -- I was chasing an arthritis-like problem at the time. Eliminating them didn't bring the benefits I'd hoped -- the culprit turned out to be gluten -- and going back on them didn't seem to cause any problems.

That said, I have an acquaintance who says that going off nightshades cleared up a longstanding problem with arthritis, and that even small exposures to things like chili powder causes her trouble, so I don't doubt that they are problematic for some folks.

I used to have a lot of joint pain - and I'm only 23 and not terribly athletic either - but since going mainly panu-wapf two months ago, I have hardly any pain. I've been an ibuprofin junky since mid highschool, haven't touched it in two months. I looked and felt like an old lady whenever I walked downstairs first thing in the morning. Could be the overall diet, but it also coincides with when I realized that I have an eggplant allergy (makes the roof of my mouth puff up painfully and immediately on contact). I avoid potatoes in general, and tomatoes and bell peppers, both of which I adore, are expensive and poor-quality in my area right now, totally not worth it unless a recipe absolutely needs them, so I've been accidentally avoiding nightshades. The few times that I've eaten tomato or potato in these last two months, I've had a slight-than-eggplant but still painful mouth reaction. So it's hard to say which part of my diet makes me less inflamed, but a strong correlation with nightshades. Anyone else have mouth reactions to nightshades and joint inflammation?

i stopped eating any and all nightshades for right about two months. Strict: no paprika, no peppers or any kind, hot sauce of course, etc etc. I noticed no difference in any joint-feeling, etc. I then added them back in (and im still consuming them "normally" now) with lots of tomato sauces, salsas, fresh peppers, hot sauces, etc and have had no discomfort, no symptoms of problems, etc. So, for me, i dont see/feel the benefit of avoiding them.

I dont discount anecdote though and i have heard from people who had more acute arthritis-y problems who felt they benefited a bunch from excluding them.

Nightshades are the main cause of my eczema, I can manage maybe one portion a week before I start to come out in an itchy rash.

I cut 'em all out and have since been clear of eczema and allergies. I think it's important to cut out nightshades if you have any autoimmune things goin' on. Also, it doesn't hurt to go nightshade-free for 30 days and see if you experience any benefits...then you can reintroduce and see which may not sit well with your system. Unfortunately for my love of potato chips, in my life right now nightshades are the devil. I'm hoping that as I get healthier, I can have them in my life again.

I noticed that tomatoes made a substantial difference to GERD. It's not so much noticeable on cutting them out, but after going off them for a while the difference has been intensely noticeable whenever they've been reintroduced.

I don't have the mouth inflamation, Anna, but definitely inflammation of my knees when I eat nightshades. My rosacia also cleared up as Blue notes. As long as I stay clear of gluten, dairy, legumes and nightshades my health is stellar. It seems like a lot to avoid but I actually have a large variety to choose from.

I slowly developed stiffness in my hands/fingers. It became so bad I purchased a keyboard to redevelop strength and flexibility. I read about nightshades and I immediately quit them.. Within 2 weeks I had my hands back 100%!!! Tested the theory because I did not want to give up tomato chutney--crippled again!!.
I did not eat any nightshades (just naturally- no prohibition just did not find myself drawn to them) until I became interested in actively eating a more colorful and healthful diet.

Experiment and test all foods for any individual sensitivity. That is probably a truly Paleo way of life!!!

I suffered "geographical tongue" and various mouth sores throughout childhood. Only when i eliminated nightshades (specifically: green pepper, tomato and eggplant) did my suffering subside. I no longer consume ANY nightshade and happily report not having mouth sores for over 5 years.