Can nightshades be bad for skin rashes? Could they be causing your flares?
It’s certainly possible that they’re one of your root causes.
But before you eliminate them, I have to acknowledge just how frustrating it is to figure out skin rash food triggers.
Sometimes you seem to have pinpointed a problem only to discover it’s not what you think!
Though nightshades can be an issue for people with chronic inflammatory conditions, the reason it affects skin isn’t so clear cut.
One interesting study from 2017 found that 52% of psoriasis sufferers saw an improvement by removing nightshades from their diet.(1)
Much has been written online about nightshades being a potential rash trigger, but I’m not sure that they truly do the topic justice. That’s why I spent hours scouring not just blog posts, but also clinical research to see how big of a problem they are. AND I wanted to share with you a clearer explanation about why they could be an issue.
That said, nightshades aren’t a problem for everyone. And this article shouldn’t be used as justification for everyone with skin problems to cut them out.
It’s better to test things out on yourself (since it’s pretty common for your triggers to be different than someone else’s). That way, you can minimize the number of foods that are removed from your diet.
What Are Nightshades?
Before we dive into the specifics behind why nightshades could be a skin rash trigger, here is a list of foods that are in the nightshade family (2). Please note that they span both fruits and vegetables as well as herbs!
- Tomatoes
- Tomatillos
- Chili Peppers
- Bell Peppers
- Eggplant
- Potatoes (not Sweet Potatoes)
- Gogi berries
- Huckleberries
- Chili powders
- Cayenne pepper
- Paprika
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Tobacco
- Ashwagandha (an adaptogenic herb)
- Sorrel
- Gooseberries (also known as Goldenberries)
- Belladonna (typically found as a homeopathic remedy)
A common misconception is that both black and white pepper (spice) are nightshades, however this is not true! They are safe to eat if nightshades are problematic for you or during your elimination test.
I’m sure a few items on here might also be pretty surprising — like gogi berries and ashwagandha (an adaptogenic herb often used in adrenal support supplements).
Why Do Nightshades Cause A Problem?
The primary reason that nightshades could trigger rashes is due to naturally-occurring phytochemicals that are there to protect the food from pests.
They can’t be washed off because the plant produces them within it as it grows.
The three big concerns are…
- Salicylates
- Histamines
- Glycoalkaloids (most notably Solanine)
Salicylates can certainly be an issue for some. You’ve probably heard of the low-salicylate diet which is often promoted as a way to calm eczema or atopic dermatitis.(3) Though I’ll certainly go into salicylates more in-depth in another article, just know that salicylate sensitivity is a reflection of liver detoxification issues, NOT gut problems.
That means it’s not actually a food issue, but your liver struggling to process salicylates through Phase 2 Detox. (If you’re not familiar with the liver detoxification system, CLICK HERE to check out this breakdown I created).
The best way to support your liver is with the addition of glycine and B6 so that it can properly process salicylates.
As far as histamine is concerned, nightshade foods can create a higher histamine burden than your body can handle. Symptoms of a high histamine response can look like hives, itchiness, swelling, nausea, heart palpitations, elevations in blood pressure, anxiety, and other GI symptoms (just to name a few).(4)
Here’s a great explanation of how to start dealing with high histamine foods on the Healthy Skin Show. It’s possible to help support the breakdown of histamines in your diet by supplementing with the DAO enzyme about 10 minutes before eating every meal.
As far as the Glycoalkaloids like solanine, it was difficult for me to find any good data connecting it as a trigger for skin flares. The jury is still out, but I suspect that the first two phytochemicals listed in this section likely explain most of the reactions.
That said, it’s always possible to have an actual food allergy to any one of these foods, so that should also be ruled out.
If by chance solanine is an issue, you’d also need to be careful of blueberries (even though it’s not a nightshade family member). It happens to contain a decent enough dose of solanine that may warrant exclusion. (5)
Another potential solanine-rich food (which sometimes appears on nightshade lists) is okra.
Before we talk about what you can do… there is one exception to the rule — white potato.
White potatoes might not be as guilty as some of the other nightshade family members!
It comes down to peeling the potato… I kid you not.
By removing the peel, the salicylate and glycoalkaloid burden is significantly lowered to the point where the potato itself would now be considered low in salicylates. In fact, just the solanine burden alone is 23 to 50 times greater in the skins of potatoes compared to the flesh.(6)
Do You Need To Avoid All Nightshades?
One of my biggest grievances with the food elimination diets that are rampant in the health world is that it feeds a more destructive fear of food.
It’s not inherently wrong to try different eliminations. But it is a problem when you pile food group upon food proteins upon naturally occurring food chemicals.
THAT is a recipe for disaster that can lead to both micronutrient and macronutrient deficiencies!
I cannot stress this enough — nightshades are not a problem for everyone.
Even though I had dyshidrotic eczema for 3 years, I never had an increase in flares from eating nightshades, nor do they trigger my eczema to reoccur now.
With all that said, I’m not YOU.
Your system, as well as your root causes, may be completely different from mine. And that’s why you’ve got to do a little investigating to see what could be a problem.
The reality is that if your “issue” with nightshade foods is because of the high salicylate load, then you aren’t actually sensitive to the nightshade family itself.
The problem lies in your liver’s ability to properly process salicylates! {HERE'S WHY}
Reducing the load of salicylates in your diet can certainly be helpful. But it can be really challenging to follow the diet. That’s why adding in additional glycine and Vitamin B6 could help!
If you want to test out if nightshades are an issue, try completely excluding them from your diet for 3 weeks. See if you notice any improvement in your skin during that time AND any flares when you attempt to reintroduce them.
Make sure to read all ingredient labels for your condiments because some of these nightshades could be hidden in the products. I’d also suggest steering clear of potato starch (often added to food products) during your test just to be on the safe side.
The key word there is “completely”. You cannot have “just a little bit”.
I typically recommend clients who attempt food elimination diets to track and rate their symptoms. This way, you know if what you’ve done actually has helped.
And remember, if you need some great breakfast ideas to jumpstart your day, my Eczema-Soothing Smoothie eGuide is a great place to get some yummy recipes!
Tips To Avoiding Nightshade Foods
If you’re interested in giving this elimination diet a try, it’s best to plan out your food in advance so that you don’t end up caving part of the way through.
Here are 10 nightshade-free recipes to try:
Balsamic Roasted Green Beans With Pomegranate & Goat Cheese
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato And Beef Stew
Sweet & Savory Strawberry Avocado Salad
Italian Wedding Soup (leave out optional red pepper flakes)
Now I want to hear from you!
Have you tried eliminating Nightshades before and what was the result?
If you haven’t given it a try yet, are you considering this elimination?
REFERENCES:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28526915
- https://www.wellandgood.com/good-food/what-are-nightshades/
- https://www.dietvsdisease.org/salicylate-intolerance/
- https://www.healthline.com/health/histamine-intolerance#symptoms
- https://www.healthline.com/health/most-nutritious-nightshade-plants#blueberries
- https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+3539
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Yes! I cut out nightshades and, while the improvement of my skin wasn’t huge, it did make a difference. But the biggest change for the better was in my gut…way less bloating and indigestion. I’m still ruling out other things, but I honestly haven’t really missed potatoes or tomatoes (raw tomatoes have always given me hives, so that’s what led me to look into nightshades).
Hi Andrea! Have you tried doing my low stomach acid test yet? It may also help you pin down a reason why your digestion is off. Low stomach acid can mess a lot of things up further downstream!
I am very allergic to peeling potatoes! I get a rash that feels like poison oak and I start wheezing badly! I can eat them when cooked (although I avoid them ) I always have rashes on my hands and arms and when I’m not Rashy my skin just doesn’t feel normal like the rest of my body. My joints hurt a lot as well, bloating and brain fog. Thinking of going plant-based.
Can you tell me more about your experience with d. eczema and how you relieved your symptoms after the 3 years? I’ve noticed myself having it for the last month and am just now realizing it and beginning to research how to handle it.
Hi Valerie, you can check out my personal journey with DE here: https://www.skinterrupt.com/dyshidrotic-eczema-changed-my-life-forever/
It was definitely a tough road. I hope you find this helpful!
How much glycine and B6 do you recommend for salicylate sensitivity? I already take collagen (which contains glycine) and B6 in a multivitamin. Thank you.
Hi Lore, You could try 3000mg glycine a day (do not consider the glycine content in collagen). Your B6 level actually depends on your current B6 status. It’s not wise to over supplement it due to toxicity concerns and it needs to be balanced with Folate and B12. It’s really best to work with someone on that amount so that you aren’t taking in too much. I’d recommend that you take a listen to this podcast to learn more about liver detox pathways — https://www.skinterrupt.com/liver-detox-help-skin-rashes/
Hi Jennifer, I have had extreme facial flare ups for approximately 17 years. I have seen my doctor and transferred to my dermatologist at my local hospital multiple times. I’ve had so test creams and lotions to try out. I’ve had all the prick and blood tests done and even transferred from hospital to the specialists up London where I had a full set of test samples taped to my back, there where around 100 of them. I do have slight allergies to wheat, dust and pet hair but keeping away from these never stopped the facial skin issues. It has been been the most horrendous burden on my life, it’s something I can’t hide. I’ve done constant research online for years and tried so many things from corn to soft drink additives. Well it’s been under a week so far but I have totally taken all nightshades out of my diet. The results so far? Well it’s early days but so far the skin on my face has settled and I have no swelling or red patches. I still have my fingers crossed but I can’t believe it! I will update you more as time goes on so I can be sure.
All the best, Ben.
I hope that this is helpful for you! Keep us posted!
Just wondering if the peels are taken off tomatoes and bell peppers if they are safe for people that might be sensitive? Does the solamine mostly come from the peels of nightshades?
Unfortunately no… solanine is found all throughout the veggie. Potatoes are an outlier and definitely NOT the rule since you CAN skin them and reduce the solanine content.
Well it’s been a few weeks without nightshades now and the transformation is quite astounding. As the days went by the skin would react less and after a couple of weeks the skin totally shed off of my hands! It looked like they had been burnt, do you think it’s because the solanine was stored in the tissue? The only potato I have is in ‘free from’ bread and flakes seem to be much better than starch for me. My face isn’t red or swollen and it has really transformed my life. I have to thank yourself as I searched a few sites but yours really seemed to mirror the problems I was having and there was a lot of detail that helped me decide a course of action. I am still shocked that such natural and widely used foods can cause such physical problems in myself and others. Even my joint pains disappeared and they were extremely painful. I shouldn’t have those problems at 44 years old. All the best Jennifer, I might come back again in a few months if there are any more changes.
Hi Jennifer! I have been nightshades free for over month and a half now. It made a HUGE difference with my skin. I also excluded from my diet gluten, dairy and sugar. All skin issues magically disappeared, except one. I had very itchy spots on my neck and the back of my head, which turned to psoriasis. After stopping the nightshades completely, psoriasis is gone, but the skin is still rough and itchy. Do you think this will resolve over time or i have to do something else?
Hi Billie, I can’t say. Often itchy patches of psoriasis (at least from my clinical experience) are associated with dysbiosis. I’m glad you got a lot of relief giving this all a try. Sounds like there’s still something else hiding out in the system to explore!
Hello,
In the past every few years I would get a small bit of psoriasis on my scalp, but it would not last very long and responded to medication from the doctor. However, this year for the first time I got terrible psoriasis on one hand and it has lasted for months. I am a big tomato eater and would eat a pint each day in my salad. I cut out the tomatoes and about 2 days later I saw marked improvement and it is about day 6 and clearing up more each day. The skin is no longer thickening and the scales are diminishing. I can see the actual palm of my hand again. I have always craved tomatoes my whole life so I had a feeling I might be allergic, but I kept eating them anyway since I love them so much. But the hand psoriasis was very painful, so I had no choice. My body in general also feels less bloated, but my arthritis is still here!
Thanks,
Donna
Hi Donna, I’m glad to hear that you’ve seen a good response from removing tomatoes from your diet. I’ve had a few psoriasis clients who have a similar experience (and a few who didn’t see an improvement… everyone is different). You might want to check with the doctor what type of arthritis you have — osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis… or even psoriatic arthritis. That will help you know if the ongoing issue is due to inflammatory issues inside the body or perhaps more from wear and tear.
Hi, my 7 year old daughter had eczema one year back which started on her knee and it turned into psoriasis after using medicines from the dermatologist. It will be disappeared after applying for
Few weeks but later on it comes back. Within 2 years she got some more minute psoriasis flare ups on her scalp, elbow and under her chin. My dermatologist never told about the diet. Can you plz suggest me whether we need to avoid the night shades completely from the diet. As we are Indians and vegetarians it is a bit difficult to avoid tomatoes. We started dairy free diet for her. Is it fine to eat tomatoes alone occasionally? Or do I need to eliminate and check on her flare ups. Also I’m little stressed out after learning about psoriasis and diet.. if my kid follows the psoriasis diet how can she get protein and vitamin D? Thank you in advance.
Hi Niharika, It might be worthwhile to test out removing nightshades for a couple of weeks and then slowly reintroducing one at a time (for example, tomatoes first, then a few days later add back in peppers, then a few days later try potatoes, etc). She might just have a problem with a specific nightshade plant, not all of them. I’m not sure what psoriasis diet you’re specifically referring to so I cannot comment on that directly. But animal protein and legumes are nightshade free. She can get Vitamin D from sun exposure or supplementation.