Paleo Diet and MS -- The Nightshades Edition

12/13/2013

The Paleo diet experiment has been going well but what a test of will power! Since I’ve gone “all in Paleo” I haven’t had any slip ups avoiding Gluten or Dairy so far. Along with eating the Paleo diet I have cut out nightshade vegetables.

“Nightshades are a family of plants that contain specific alkaloid compounds that can be irritating to those suffering from joint pain and inflammation.”(Sanfilippo) The most common nightshades are tomatoes, white potatoes, eggplants and all peppers. Black pepper and sweet potatoes are not nightshades.

Try eliminating nightshades for thirty days to see if you notice a difference in your joint pain or inflammation. After thirty days reintroduce one nightshade at a time back into your diet so that you have a better chance of pinpointing the offending veggie.

My thirty days of being nightshade free are nearly up so I will begin reintroducing some of the veggies back into my diet, first will be tomatoes…it’s not a salad without tomatoes!! Keep up the fight!

Be a Warrior Today,

Donn

Sanfilippo, Diane Practical Paleo 2012

6 Comments

Ana

12/15/2013 10:55:46 am

Do you manage to stay off sugar? If yes, please give us an advice on how to do it!

Donn

12/16/2013 12:56:05 am

Ana,

At this point avoiding sugars has been replaced with lemon water and trail mix. I miss eating sweets and drinking soda but I feel much better since I have dropped them. This has definitely been a test of my self control so far especially during the holidays. I also will snack on veggies like celery and carrots along with fruit like apples, grapes and bananas. you can do it!

Donn

12/17/2013 01:01:37 am

So glad you made it, stay strong for holiday temptations!!!

Elizabeth Molle

12/28/2013 09:22:56 am

I love your blogs. I find than informative and inspirational. Here's my question: Do you know what foods irritate your condition or did you go all out Paleo all at once?

12/30/2013 01:12:38 am

Elizabeth,

Thank you for the kind words! Going Paleo kind of happened all at once for me. I watched Dr.Wahls TEDx presentation and was very inspired by it. I feel much more energetic since I made the switch. I'm not sure which foods were irritating my MS but I do feel better overall.

Donn

Carolyn Robarge

6/4/2018 06:37:42 am

After an iritis diagnosis, my ophthalmologist sent me to get lab tested for HLA-B27 gene as sudden iritis is not usual. I do have this gene (which makes me susceptible to ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis.) I was able to eliminate the flu like ache of my body, by eliminating grains (except for small weekly amounts of gluten free rice, quinoa and other non gluten grains) and most importantly, eliminating nightshades. I had increased nightshades after eliminating grains, which resulted in my knees swelling and arthritis symptoms in them. After two weeks of no nightshades, my shoes were not tight anymore, my aching joints that interrupted my sleep disappeared and my swollen knees went away. I think it is important for everyone to do a 30 day elimination diet as a first step to recovery. I have never taken a blood allergy test, as I think the elimination diet is more accurate. I hope this helps others.

Paleo Diet and MS -- The Nightshades Edition

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