If it's not there, the gist of it was that people with autoimmune diseases
should not eat certain nightshades like tomatoes and potatoes because they
contain certain antinutrients (natural toxins used by plants to kill
insects, fungi and other threats) that act as adjuvants (immune stimulators)
which promote leaky gut syndrome.

Tomatoes contain the antinutrients tomato lectin and the saponin alpha
tomatine. Lectins and saponins can work together to increase gut
permeability and contribute to "leaky gut syndrome. Cordain discusses the
tomato adjuvant toxins in "How to Treat Multiple Sclerosis with Diet
(multiple videos; covers the role of tomatoes in MS),"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhkmDHLCUEs.

In the Paleo Diet, Cordain prohibited the potato nightshades and he has
briefly mentioned here and there that there are anecdotal reports of
arthritis and other diseases of civilization being triggered or exacerbated
by nightshades and I think he may have researched one or more of them beyond
tomatoes and potatoes. When it comes to the non-potato nightshades, though
he has been more liberal, saying "If you don't have an autoimmune disease
then you don't have to worry about sapponins." 

Based on the precautionary principle of "first do no harm," and because
nightshades provide no essential nutrient that cannot be gotten elsewhere
and because they all contain varying quantities of antinutrients, I would
recommend that all consider an elimination trial with nightshades,
especially those with autoimmune disorder symptoms, gut symptoms or nutrient
deficiency symptoms, and see if it provides any health benefits, because I
didn't know I had a problem with them until I tried this and I didn't have a
clinically-recognized full-fledged autoimmune disease at the time (though I
did have IBS and gluten intolerance, which I believe have immune system
components). The benefits were mild as compared to gluten, dairy and overall
plant carb elimination for me, but they were noticeable.

Besides, most people don't find that nightshades taste particularly good
without something else added, like butter, spices, salad oil, etc. (how many
people eat plain boiled or baked potatoes with nothing added?), which may be
another clue to their not being a natural staple food for humans. On the
other hand, most traditional societies eat some sort of low-and-slow baked
tuber (though usually the African yams or other non-potato tubers), so
they're probably not as unhealthy for most people as grains or legumes,
especially grains and legumes processed with modern techniques.

-Paleo Phil

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paleolithic Eating Support List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jim Swayze
> Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2010 4:52 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Experiment 2010: Day Five
> 
> I saw the mention in Cordain's newsletter, but by the time I got
> around  to reading it he was charging for the info. Will have to see
> if he has it under the research section on his website...
> 
> Jim Swayze
> www.fireholecanyon.com
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Jun 30, 2010, at 8:41 PM, Paleo Phil <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> > Jim, have you checked out the research of Dr. Cordain's team? If
> > not, I recommend it.