Deadly Nightshades and Do Brits call themselves English or British or both?

[shadowkat]

1. Currently reading a 1980s Judith McNaught Boddice Ripper entitled Whitney, My Love which is highly controversial. (ie. some hate, some love. Mainly, I think a lot of people just don't read very carefully - but that's just me. Romance genre is known for readers that skim and do not think all that hard about what they've read.) At any rate, the book takes place in England during the 1800s. And while reading it...I noticed that the characters called people who hailed from England, English. This begs a question - is this accurate?
Would someone who lives in England - call another person, English, or would they call them, British, during this time period? Or does it depend on the situation? Sort of like in the US, when we generally call each other Americans, but also might state "Kansan" or "New Yorker" or...honestly some of the states this doesn't quite work with. You don't call people from Massachustus - Massachustusians, do you? Anyhow - to the folks who live in Great Britian or England - what do you prefer? British or English? I can't imagine someone from Scotland or Wales wanting to be called English. At least they didn't when I visited in the 1980s, and I don't refer to my heritage as English, but rather Welsh, Scotch-Irish, Irish, French-Belgium and German (yes, Northern Celt - Lady of the Moon, can't you tell?).

2. Suffering from Arthritis? Inflammation? Feel like a human weather vane - the weather gets nasty and you begin to ache?

Try going off nightshades for three months. Of course first you have to figure out what they are and what the heck I'm talking about. Also it's a rather controversial topic.

Nightshade...sounds like something out of a Neal Gaiman/Tim Burton story, doesn't it? Apparently in reality Nightshades are foods with a chemical known as Solanine which is an alkoid and can be highly toxic for some people. Some people are highly sensitive to it. Others not so much.

This view is rather controversial. Some people believe nightshades cause arthritic pain and are inflammatory, and some do not. And they are quite strident in their views. (If you thought fandom was bad, try the health field.)

From Dr. Chase Hayden:

The connection of nightshades and arthritis-type disorders was brought to the forefront largely by the efforts of Dr. Norman F. Childers, former Professor of Horticulture at Rutgers University. Dr. Childers knew first-hand the affects of severe joint pain and stiffness. He discovered that after consuming a meal containing any tomatoes, he experienced severe pain. As his interest in the inflammatory responses to nightshades grew, he observed livestock kneeling in pain from inflamed joints – the livestock had consumed weeds containing a substance called solanine. Solanine is a chemical known as an alkaloid, which can be highly toxic.

An enzyme present in the body called Cholinesterase originates in the brain where its responsible for flexibility of muscle movement. Solanine, present in nightshades, is a powerful inhibitor of cholinesterase. In other words, its presence can interfere with muscle function – the cause of stiffness experienced after consuming nightshades. All people are not sensitive to nightshades in the same degree. Research has proved that when an inflammatory condition exists, consuming nightshades is like adding “fuel to the fire”. That said, there is no scientific evidence that for those not afflicted with inflammation that nightshades will cause it.

From Rhea Seymore - Best Health Magazine (who doesn't appear to be a doctor and doesn't seem to get the fact that they cause it in individuals who are sensitive to nightshades NOT everyone.) The Counter Argument or Nightshades are bogus:

Sometimes even vegetables get a bad rap. Take the nightshade vegetables or Solanaceae, a plant family that includes eggplant, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes. (The term “nightshade” may have been coined because some of these plants prefer to grow in shady areas, and some flower at night.) An online search of “nightshade vegetables” yields results linking them to a host of health ailments from arthritis to migraines. Naturo­paths sometimes recommend that people with arthritis avoid nightshades. And Patricia J. Wales, a naturopathic doctor in Calgary, says naturopaths may suggest that people with osteoarthritis eliminate nightshades. These vegetables are also excluded from certain eating plans. Dr. Joshi’s Holistic Detox—endorsed by Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Moss—claims nightshades are related to poison ivy and potentially poisonous. “But poison ivy isn’t even in the same plant family,” explains Barry Micallef, a plant biochemistry expert at the University of Guelph.

Why the bad reputation? Some people may think nightshade vegetables are harmful because they’re confusing them with “deadly nightshade” or Atrope belladonna, an inedible weed that’s also part of the Solanaceae family, explains Micallef. Historically, the deadly nightshade has been associated with witchcraft. When ingested in large amounts, it may cause convulsions or even death. But that has nothing to do with these vegetables.

http://www.besthealthmag.ca/eat-well/nutrition/4-myths-about-nightshade-vegetables

This site - proposes a compromise - take a three month test, go off all nightshades for three months and see what happens.

If you want to know if nightshades negatively affect you, take the three month challenge. Avoid all nightshades for three months. (It's called a challenge for a reason).Be careful to note the nightshade list, and become a label reader as some homeopathics, prescriptions, over the counter medications as well as numerous processed foods contain nightshades. Prescriptions and over the counter medicines may require a discussion with your pharmacist or a phone call to the manufacturer of your over the counter medicines to determine ingredients.

After three months, begin to reintroduce one nightshade at a time. Take note of any aches, pains, stiffness, and loss of energy, headaches, respiratory problems or any other symptoms. You may find as many others have, that the quality of your daily health will dramatically improve after eliminating nightshades from your diet.

The nightshade list

­ tomatoes (all varieties, including tomatillos)
­ potatoes (all varieties, NOT sweet potatoes or yams)
­ eggplant (aubergine)
­ okra
­ peppers (all varieties such as bell pepper, wax pepper, green & red peppers, chili peppers, cayenne, paprika, etc.)
­ goji berries
­ tomarillos (a plum-like fruit from Peru)
­ sorrel
­ garden huckleberry & blueberries (contain the alkaloids that induce inflammation)
­ gooseberries
­ ground cherries
­ pepino Melon
­ the homeopathic "Belladonna" [note: this is highly precautionary as homeopathics contain virtually no measurable "active" chemical]
­ tobacco
­ paprika
­ cayenne pepper

Soy sauce made in the U.S. is generally made with genetically modified (GMO) soy beans, which are cut with the nightshade plant Petunia.

The condiments black/white pepper and pepper corns are not nightshades
Other ingredients and products to avoid

­Homeopathic remedies containing Belladonna [note: this is highly precautionary as homeopathics contain virtually no measurable "active" chemical]
­Prescription and over-the-counter medications containing potato starch as a filler (especially prevalent in sleeping and muscle relaxing medications)
­Edible flowers: petunia, chalice vine, day jasmine, angel and devil's trumpets
­Atropine and Scopolamine, used in sleeping pills
­Topical medications for pain and inflammation containing capsicum (in cayenne pepper).
­Many baking powders contain potato starch
­Don't lick envelopes, many adhesives contain potato starch
­Vodka (potatoes used in production)

Read labels carefully because you could be doing everything else right, and still be sabotaged by one small amount of an ingredient.

Mark's Daily Apple seems to agree:

So, what gives? Are they bad, or are they O.K.? Our simple answer: eat them (and enjoy them) in moderation if you don’t feel any ill effects. While research hasn’t yet turned up any definitive evidence that the alkaloid-containing foods in question harm the human system, it’s generally accepted that some people are much more sensitive to them than others. Nightshades, in those with this sensitivity, have been associated with symptoms like stomach discomfort, digestive difficulties, joint pain, and muscle tremors. These reports have been enough to influence medical care professionals and some organizations to advise those with certain conditions like GERD, gout, or arthritis to avoid nightshades. If you don’t have these conditions but are concerned, it’s a good idea to take a full 2-4 weeks off from nightshade foods and see if you feel any differently. Some of us have mild enough reactions that we may not feel the difference until we set our own “control” scenario for comparison.

Finally, if sensitivity doesn’t seem to be a problem but you’d like to take some reasonable precautions, know that cooking nightshade foods (steaming, boiling, baking) can reduce the alkaloid levels to nearly half. And yet another reason to avoid potatoes: sprouted potatoes (and their associated green parts) have higher levels of alkaloids than other foods.

And, finally, we’d like to put in a plug for a widely varied diet. As much as we love our tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers, we wouldn’t recommend making them the sole or primary vegetables in your diet. Variety offers the best in nutrient-rich and low-risk nourishment.

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/nightshades/#ixzz2nJgijolW

What I can't find anywhere is proof that apples are nightshades. So I don't trust the Nutritionist on this point. Also weirdly did find Chayote squash on the nightshade list. Blueberries are on some lists and not others.

See? This is the problem with the nutrition field, everyone believes they are an expert but when all is said and done they are only an expert when it relates to them. At any rate, my nutritionist and this site Educate Me: Nightshades, written by a Registered Nurse and Dietician, state that if you find you are sensitive, go off of them and see what happens.

I know eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers have always disagreed with me on some level - and going off them relieved a lot of symptoms. Also I was eating a lot of them last year - because you know - they taste good and I'm a foodie. But, when I went off of all of them, the pain went away or decreased. Apples and blueberries I remain unconvinced about - although she recommended just going off of all apples but the Green Granny Smiths - which to be honest are really the only ones that I like. The others...tend to disagree with me or are too sweet.

So I think the elimination diet is key here.


Tomorrow, I'll discuss what I've learned about grains.