Deadly nightshade family and eczema

[Sheilsie]

Somebody told me that giving my 8-month old DD members of the "deadly nightshade family" (potato, aubergine, peppers and tomato) to eat might not be good for her eczema. I can't find anything to back this up (apart from re tomato) and the hospital staff think I'm a bit mad by not giving her these foods.

Has anybody else heard a similar thing? Thanks

[puffylovett]

Hi there
Nightshade family foods can be inflammatory, and with eczema being an inflammatory condition, it can be an idea to avoid them. Certainy with DS - potatoes and tomatoes triggered bad itchy flares for a long time. I haven't been able to get him to eat peppers or aubergines so couldn't tell you re those.

Re the potatoe it's the type of spud that's the issue. I THINK red spuds are OK - they have less of the chemical that causes the reaction. It might be white spuds though - I'll check and come back, pregnancy = dodgy memory !

we're OK with these foods now, but DS is 2.5. TBH I would try introducing them 1 at a time and watching very carefully for a reaction. Don't introduce any other foods for a good 2-3 days following the intro of a nightshade food. For us, a telling point was that tomato would leave a huge red blotch on his cheek.

Hope that helps !

[Sheilsie]

Thanks, yes that does help (even if it wasn't the answer I was hoping for - we're already on a milk and egg free diet, so it would have been nice to try a few new foods). If you could get back to me re the red potatoes that would be great thanks.

[puffylovett]

Hi sheilsie - Red potatos and sweet potatoes aren't members of the solanaceae familia. It's the white potatoes that are high in the alkaloids that can worsen inflammatory conditions. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news !
HTH