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Let Food Be Thy Medicine, Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)

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Oxalic Acid and the Nightshade Story

The plant family called nightshade is what I'm talking about. They are potatoes (not sweet potatoes, they are OK), eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and tobacco. These plants use a substance called solanine to protect them from being eaten by insects and other living things before they are ripe (with ripe seeds). Solanine interferes with enzymes in the muscles of humans and can cause us to experience pain. The solanine levels are highest in unripe vegetables and the solanine levels drop when the vegetable ripens. A vine ripened tomato will not cause problems while a tomato picked green and ripened off the vine will (most supermarket tomatoes). Bell peppers are problematic. Green bell peppers are not ripe, therefore they are high in solanine. Bell peppers turn red when they are ripe and red bell peppers will not cause a problem. This goes for hot peppers also, red is good, green is not.

Over-consumption of foods containing high amounts oxalic acid should be avoided. Oxalic acid binds to the beneficial minerals such as calcium and iron and prevents them from being absorbed and used by the body.