->I am now obsessing on tomatos.  First, I thought they were fruits.  Now, I
>heard they are nightshades.
>
>Nightshades include all kinds of potatos except the yam (S.
American--right,
>the light colored and tan one) and eggplant, and tomatos I guess.
>
>Please, can someone tell me if there are more?
>
>Also, I dont understand.  You can eat eggplants or tomatos raw.  So that is
>not the point of their paleoness.  Is it when they came into being, only in
>neo times?


Hi Judith,

I am new to paleo, but have learned a lot of interesting info about foods
when learning how to feed my dogs a raw biologically appropriate diet (like
that of their ancestors the wolves, because the canine digestive system and
that of the wolf are the same. Therefore they can benefit from the same
foods.)

Some things I learned from a holistic health practitioner that apply to
people and dogs are about the members of the Solanacea family.  Tomatoes are
a fruit in that family, white potatoes (and those oddball blue, or yellow,
or finger ones) belong to it also, as do eggplants and pepper plants from
bell peppers to Habaneros.  A surprisingly high percentage of people with
inflammatory disease of some sort (I have heard from 25% to 60%) are
sensitive to substances in this plant family such that eating them will
exacerbate (worsen) the inflammation.

I did not believe this easily, considering how many national cuisines are
BASED on tomatoes or potatoes!  Arthritis is also common though. Even in
sunny climates where tomatoes are the favorite veggie and in every meal.

I accepted her challenge to quit eating any foods from that family for ten
days, to see for myself. I was hoping it was a crock, because I ADORE
tomatoes and use sweet bell peppers as fat-free snacks. I was actually
unhappy to notice that I really had LESS PAIN after only three or four days
off the Solanaceae.  The arthritis didn't go away (darn!) but without the
foods making any pain worse, I didn't have to take as many meds, or hurt and
have miserable days.

Now, I KNOW its effect on me, and I do not eat any such foods if the weather
is about to change, which is when my pain is worst.  Considering tomatoes
and peppers guiltless foods as well as comfort foods, I had been consoling
myself with them when I felt bad! So I had been ignorantly making my own
pain much worse.  Now, believe it or not, I watch the weather forecast to
decide if I can get away with a tomato snack, or potatoes with a roast!

This does NOT apply to everyone who has inflammatory problems, but for those
to whom it does apply, it can make a big difference in the pain level, so it
is useful to know.  Also, there are other substances in the hot peppers that
often relieve inflammatory pain when applied externally, so they need not be
discarded entirely. An ointment or rub made with hot peppers can give you a
nice Capsicum glow...

I do not feed the Solanacea to my dogs in their veggie meals, because there
are other veggies that provide the same nutrients, and some dogs can have
good hips and still become arthritic. And they can't tell us when they hurt,
and are so stoic except for a sudden sharp pain....

Someone on a canine diet list where we were discussing what was and wasn't
appropriate said that her sled dogs NEEDED a diet based on fish to thrive,
because they had adapted themselves to that diet over many many centuries,
maybe longer, and could make the best use of it, just like the native wolves
in that same area.  So for her dogs red meat or chicken were NOT as healthy
as fish.

It left me wondering if origins make a difference in what someone can
benefit from, such as people from South and Central America being well
adapted to the Solanaceae foods because they are native to their part of the
world, whereas they are relatively new (within a handful of centuries) for
New World and European people. Also makes me wonder what a mutt like me,
part English, Scottish, Irish, and German, would do best with!

-- laurie brooke adams (Mother Mastiff)  mastiffs at mindspring dot com
     forever missing the comfort and company of my beloved Madame Bitch
 _________________________________________________________
               Beauty without soundness is a genuine TRAGEDY.
TEST YOUR DOGS THOROUGHLY!  BREED CAREFULLY, WISELY, & SELDOM.

 Most major problems that cause dogs pain and cost big $ ARE avoidable
 using current and emerging technologies.  Since others test, YOU CAN TOO!
 If you aren't ACTIVELY part of the SOLUTION, you ARE part of the PROBLEM!

Visit my pages: http://mastiffs.home.mindspring.com/photo.htm  (mastiffs)
                            http://members.xoom.com/colorsplash/  (fancy
chickens)

_________________________________________________________
  (C) 1999  My words are my own.  If you want to use them, ASK ME FIRST.