Tomatoes and the nightshade debate

pancakerunner
pancakerunner Posts: 6,137 Member
edited September 2019 in Food and Nutrition
I have been reading a lot into nightshades and inflammatory foods and of course tomatoes are on the list of "foods to avoid."

This leads to the question: do you eat tomatoes? If any of you have cut out tomatoes from your diet, have you seen improvements in your health?
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Replies

  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 850 Member
    Mmm I love tomatoes, must admit yellow ones personal favorite. I do no buy into the whole tomatoes are bad for us. But for some people with acid reflux, one of my brothers no longer can tolerate things like spaghetti sauce, or any type of canned tomatoes. It causes pain.
  • ThatJuJitsuWoman
    ThatJuJitsuWoman Posts: 155 Member
    I’ve never cut tomatoes out of my diet, but I eat a lot more of them in summer than in winter because my Dad’s garden is full of them.

    I haven’t noticed any changes in my health between tomato season and the rest of the year.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,970 Member
    I eat at least one tomato every day. I must admit, as with other fruits and vegetables that I love, I don't research them to see if they are harmful to me.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,950 Member
    I have been reading a lot into nightshades and inflammatory foods and of course tomatoes are on the list of "foods to avoid."

    This leads to the question: do you eat tomatoes? If any of you have cut out tomatoes from your diet, have you seen improvements in your health?

    I eat tomatoes mainly in season. I haven't noticed any correlated improvement in my health when the fall comes and I stop.
  • VegjoyP
    VegjoyP Posts: 2,693 Member
    I have autoimmune conditons and have been away from them a long time, ironically until this week. I got sundried tomatoes in olive oil
    I was craving them a lot so I got a jar to go with olive tapanade and Trader Joes Vegan pesto. I like them but probably won't buy them again for a while. Im not using much,.they feel too acidic for me. The olive oil seems to reduce the inflammatory factor.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,925 Member
    Yes I eat tomatoes - not a lot, a few slices here and there, probably adds up to one or two tomatoes a week.

    I have no issues connected to tomato eating so no plans to change my intake.

    I do know people for whom tomatoes are a gout trigger - not sure if this is common
    I do not get gout so not relevant to me.
  • Clairin
    Clairin Posts: 95 Member
    Here's a great link, if you scroll way down past all the nutrition benefits of tomatoes, this article discusses why tomatoes create a sensitivity for some people: https://draxe.com/nutrition/vegetables/tomato-nutrition/
    My grandfather with arthritis and who is on warfarin recently developed a nasty skin rash. His consumption of tomatoes at breakfast was singled out to be the cause.
    Personally I always seek to remove seeds or eat without the skin as these are very hard to digest or indigestible in the case of their seeds.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,925 Member
    Oh Ive never done that.

    They just get sliced and eaten - in a sandwich or something for me, not a fan of eating them alone myself.
    Except sometimes the little cherry tomatoes.

    But never de-skinned them first or removed the seeds.

    That would be such a messy and fiddly job..
  • staticsplit
    staticsplit Posts: 538 Member
    I'm one of the ones with a sensitivity. I've never liked raw tomatoes (the texture isn't for me) unless they've been broken down a bit with balsamic vinegar (e.g. bruschetta). If I slice raw tomatoes my skin breaks out in a rash and I expect if I ate too many raw ones they'd give me a stomach ache. However, once they're cooked or broken down, I'm fine with them.

    My mother in law quasi-avoids nightshades due to her arthritis, but she's not sure how much of an effect it actually has.
  • Clairin
    Clairin Posts: 95 Member
    Oh Ive never done that.

    They just get sliced and eaten - in a sandwich or something for me, not a fan of eating them alone myself.
    Except sometimes the little cherry tomatoes.

    But never de-skinned them first or removed the seeds.

    That would be such a messy and fiddly job..

    Hi, yes de skinning definitely fiddly so mostly don't bother. However canned tomatoes are peeled typically so that works out well. Id pretty much always d.e seed though just push out the seeds with my thumb :-)