Originally Posted by fishnlady
I developed a form of RA. There is about 1 to 3 percent or more of humans that have a sensitivity to foods in the nightshade family of foods. I was skeptical at first, but went on a restrictive diet excluding these foods for two weeks and got a big surprise. The inflammation and swelling went away. It is hard to avoid these foods and I find they are some of my favorites but if I want relief then I stay away from them. Some people can eat these foods with no apparent problems. You can check this information out here:
http://www.noarthritis.com/nightshades.htm
Thank you for this information, fishnlady! The last few years I've had more back and joint pain accompanied with swelling , so consulted a rheumatologist who ran blood work and diagnosed it as severe osteoarthritis. I was relieved that it wasn't RA or some other auto immune problem. I've wondered if there might be some dietary changes I could make to help this, so I'm going to take this article to heart and give it a try. Incidentally, my SIL has chron's disease and is on a very restricted diet. I recall now that she has mentioned that nightshades contribute to her flareups.