Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant and other variations of nightshade plants in our gardens and in our yards as weeds, are in the spotlight recently. I, for one, love my nightshades. After reading all the hype about these plants actually being bad for you, I understand why.
The nightshade family of plants have long been touted as plants from the devil himself due to the sweet flavor and terrible side effects. Yes that is right, in fact, in Europe after the Spanish had conquered South America and brought the fruit back with them, the tomato had earned the name "the cancer apple" since it would poison livestock who fed on it. It was then used for years as an ornamental plant. According to the English Oxford Dictionary here is a definition of Nightshade:
A plant related to the potato, typically having poisonous black or red berries. Several kinds of nightshade have been used in the production of herbal medicines.
We have all heard, growing up, not to eat the eyes of the potato because they were poisonous. I think maybe we should have looked into this a little earlier, but back then, but our parents believed what they were told by the ruling parties of the world. Well as it turns out, they are not very good for us.
Nightshades tend to extract calcium from the bones, and diets of regular feasters of these divine tasting fruits, are subject to this silent loss. Many nightshades were used as ingredients in poisons made to kill. Since the fruit of the tomato does not "kill" us right off, we tend not to consider it harmful. In reality, the fruit is eating away at the inside of our bodies. There have been many studies that would show the elimination of nightshades from our diet will decrease or eliminate the following problems: arthritis, calcium depletion, stiff joints, painful wrists, painful ankles, painful knees, diabetes, cartilage depletion, rheumatic diseases, back pain, teeth and gum pain or swelling. This is in no means a complete list of the symptoms of nightshade poisoning.
Consider that calcium is depleted with the consumption of nightshades, by way of the alkaloids contained in each fruit. When you consume large amounts of this alkaloid your body immediately starts to become restless and enters into a state of unrest. During this period your body becomes hyper-sensitive to solanine which is contained in potatoes, and according to "Poisonous Plants of the United States and Canada, by John Kingsbury" can put you into a state of sleeplessness and even death.
Since calcium is a natural bone and cartilage healer and sedative, and our depletion of this mineral through the use of nightshades, we are becoming a population of walking zombies who take all kinds of chemicals to alleviate the pain and stress of everyday living.
Why would this information not be readily available to the public? Why are there isles and isles of canned tomatoes, bags and bags of potatoes? Why do we grow them? We are addicted to the comfort of having them around. Since I was a kid I can not remember a time where we went to a burger joint and get a burger with fries, smothered in ketchup, and hated it. That's right, we loved every delicious bite. Since keeping people happy is what our world governments do, why rock the boat and publish a warning for foods that are so delicious, and widespread.
In the case of Nix v. Hedden, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes are vegetables, despite the botanical fact that tomatoes are fruits.
So why was it so important that tomatoes be defined legally as a vegetable? Well, back in 1883, a tariff was put in place to protect domestic vegetable growers by taxing imported vegetables. In 1886, the plaintiffs (Nix) imported some tomatoes from the West Indies. The collector of the port of New York (Hedden) imposed a duty on the tomatoes, which he considered vegetables. The plaintiffs paid the duty under protest and sued Hedden, arguing that tomatoes are botanically a fruit, and therefore should not be taxed as a vegetable. The case eventually ended up in the Supreme Court, which decided that while tomatoes are indeed botanically defined as fruit, consumers think of tomatoes as vegetables, and that is how they should be legally defined.
My new nightshade favorite is the ground cherry, I grew it for the first time last year and we could not stop eating it. I love pizza, steak and potatoes, tomato soup, salads with tomatoes, stuffed peppers, chili, and all the other possible nightshade culinary crescendos. So this information is quite terrible.
Looking forward, I will be growing nightshades this year to meet demand, only. I will be putting a warning on every box of veggies I sell, informing the end user of the possible problems associated with the consumption of nightshades. I will rid my shelves and my diet of these potential hazards, not totally, but substantially. Might also be possible that the acid reflux you get after eating nightshades is our body attempting to warn us of the poison we just ingested.
According to the Mayo Clinic
Hypercalcemia is usually a result of overactive parathyroid glands. These four tiny glands are situated behind the thyroid gland. Other causes of hypercalcemia include cancer, certain other medical disorders, some medications, and taking too much of calcium and vitamin D supplements.
Hmmm, I am thinking that with our over consumption, maybe the nightshades play a part in this condition. The nightshades, all, deplete our bones of calcium and fill our blood with excess calcium. Then we take in lots of supplements, even through the advice of our doctors, in order to stop the loss of bone mass or improve our sicknesses, such as MS. These people should be immediately restricted from the use of nightshades, in my own opinion, I think they may have a severe allergy to the nightshade family of plants. By removing these plants from our table I hope to achieve a healthier and more productive lifestyle.
Well, find some reference material below and feel free to throw those tomatoes out into the garden, by the way, they are loaded with potassium and will make for great compost!
Well please up-vote and follow if you like my content. I will continue to post similar articles on plants, homegrown foods, gardening and homesteading ideas. Again thanks for dropping in. Remember that this is not medical advice nor do I prescribe anything to anyone. This post is for educational purposes only. Your body is your temple, treat it well. Have a great garden!
