Are peppers bad for you?

[trixietrack]

Are peppers bad for you?

deadly nightshades the leaf and roots are highly poisonous but the fruits are not.
it's a myth.
if potatoes are not stored properly they may become mildly toxic (they turn greenish)
they were considered evil cause they grow at night.

peppers are extremely good for you. and they taste good.

[Accountable for Me]

Are peppers bad for you?

I am with Determinator on this one.......... Love peppers - all of them. I eat so many red peppers and I feel great. This time of the year you can buy a bagful for really cheap, and we go through about 5 peppers a week. My little one loves them raw too. My ex ate them raw and has every condition known to man-kind such as rheumitoid arthritis and bursitis. Never bothered him at all.

I think it goes without saying most of anything we eat has always had a good side and a bad side. They keep switching the whole egg theory. Once upon a time ago, they were BAD for you. Now they are good for you. Animal organs such as liver and kidney were once thought of being very good for you, now they are toxic. So... who is to know. Your body knows better than any study.

The more natural foods you eat, the better. (this is a given, I know)

I personally eat tons of raw foods, fish, eggs, and cheese. Once in a while I will eat a bit of red meat because I feel tired and crave it. If I don't incorporate it into my diet every so often I feel very run down. Iron pills jam my system up, so I eat a lot of spinach (I eat it daily), which helps me with fatigue. Peppers, spinach, beets, broccoli, carrots, beans, zucchini, are all staples in our diet.

[HopefulNow]

Are peppers bad for you?

AFM,

Your diet sounds a LOT like mine -- I eat spinach almost daily as well. Beets, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, red pepper, beans (kidney and garbonzo, primarily), etc.

I literally crave these things.

There are worse things to crave, as we all know too well.

And I also eat very little red meat, perhaps a time or two a month. But when I want it, MAN I want it! Sometimes it's hard to beat a perfect burger, or a nice steak, if that's what your body suddenly demands.

-HopefulNow

[Determinator]

Are peppers bad for you?

AFM if you are primarily a veggie then you may consider taking carnitine...heard it's especially important if you don't eat much red meat.

[Doggygirl]

Are peppers bad for you?

Hi Beatle. Here is my take on peppers specifically, and night shades in general. My opinion has been developed from research specific to Candida Albicans overgrowth issues (common in heavy drinkers and/or sugar eaters). But a wide variety of health problems, including joint pain issues, can arise from Candida overgrowth.

I have not read anywhere in my research a broad based suggestion that "peppers are bad for you" or "night shade veggies are bad for you" suggesting they are bad for all people. I HAVE read in many places that this category of veggies is a "watch list" type of food for some percentage of people. Sort of like wheat gluten is absolutely problematic for some people, but not for others. I'm guessing that this sort of thing might be what other posters are driving at - NOT that these foods are being touted as "bad for everyone."

I too have some joint pain issues, and once I get my AF thing straight along with my general low carb diet, I'm thinking about tackling some experimentation with these "borderline - bad for some" type foods to see if it helps. I'm also hoping that just generally getting the candida thing under control will help.

Anyway, that's 2 more cents for whatever it's worth.

DG

[nancy]

Are peppers bad for you?

peppers

What an interesting thread! Thanks for starting it. I had no idea about this issue with joint problems though I don't have these anyway.

So Beatle, why does he have to eat them raw? Can you sautee them in olive oil to make them taste better? Maybe Marbella can give us some recipes!

And My Own Woman or others who know: What is the deal with natural vinegar? What are you supposed to do with it and what does it help?

[slightlysuze]

Are peppers bad for you?

I found this interesting snippet on a site about deadly nightshades.....remembered that the derivative is belladonna....please....I really don't think anyone should think that the fruits are harmless!!!



The family's common name 'deadly night shade' reflects a precautionary note about the toxic nature of many of its members. This name is derived from the herb called deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna, which contains a potent narcotic extract called Atropine. This is used medicinally as an eye dilating drug and sedative.

Another plant with toxic properties is the foetid smelling thorn apple, Datura stramonium, commonly found in India. Even today Indian thieves and assassins are consistently administering high doses to their victims in order to render them insensible. However, it also contains beneficial alkaloids, which alleviate asthma and act as a pre-anaesthetic in childbirth and surgery.

Of the well known family members, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) is a very hazardous plant. Less known are the allergies encountered by some regular consumers of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicum and/or aubergines. To illustrate their potency, a world-renowned ballet dancer became crippled with muscular and joint pains and was unable to dance. Following a diagnosis of intolerance to these foods she resumed her distinguished career within a month of excluding them from her diet. Other users report that within a short time of eating them they have difficulty in relaxing and/or sleeping. Vivid dreams are symptomatic of this intolerance.



I think Doggygirl hits it on the head......no foods are intrinsically bad for everyone....but it is perfectly possible for some foods to have bad effects for some people....eg coeliacs cannot eat gluten products. I love peppers but had excluded them (and all nightshade family foods) from my diet for about 2 months to see the effect, if any. My joints pains improved. I have been eating potatoes and peppers and aubs for about 2 weeks...my joint pains are worse. I am cheesed off about it...but there it is!!!!!:upset:


Suze x

[Doggygirl]

Are peppers bad for you?

Suze, that is interesting about your experience with peppers/potatoes relative to joint pain. This is making me wonder if I shouldn't get back to a VERY strict anti-Candida, including ditching the night shades (I did not exclude them before) does for me. Hmmm...

Wish I could comment more on vinegar. That's another item that is sometimes mentioned as a "no way - no vinegar at all" on an anti-Candida diet foods list, to "vinegar shouldn't be a problem" to "use on the raw vinegar with the mother. I have tried raw vinegar in place of distilled vinegar. (The distilling process is supposedly the problem according to some) It's got a very different and IMO, much stronger taste. I wasn't thrilled with the results in my favorite recipes. But now I'm wandering far off the track!

DG

[nancy]

Are peppers bad for you?

I just looked this up in the book How to Quit Drinking without AA, which has a diet for people trying to quit drinking. Granted, though, if you followed the book's advice you would not eat much, seems a bit extreme.

Here is what it says though:
Nightshade vegetables upset the body's calcium metabolism by causing a biochemical reaction that removes calcium from the bones and redeposits it, via the bloodstream throughout the body. This causes inapprorpriate calcification of the joints, kidneys, blood vessels, and soft tissue. Some specialists avoid eliminating nightshades if you have any inappropriate calcification in the body, especially arthritis, osteoporosis and other bone disease.

But the author says you should quit at the same time as dairy because quitting one or the other could cause calcium imbalance.

On dairy:
Foods like milk, butter yoghurt etc are high in calcium but also i phosphorous, which blocks the body's ability to assimilate calcium. You'll gain much better calcium from dark leafy green vegetables...

Avoid reduced fat milk, skim milk, 1% and 2%. these have been stripped of butterfat. Without butterfat, assimilation of calcium decreases. and without the protein splitting enzymes in butterfat, digestion becomes labored and incomplete.



Any thoughts on the above?

[slightlysuze]

Are peppers bad for you?

This takes a bit of reading but is really excellent at pointing out the myth that dairy products are a good source of calcium for humans.......and in fact promote bone loss.


Milk, dairy produce, calcium and health

Don't get me on my soapbox here :H


Suze x

[MyOwnWoman]

Are peppers bad for you?

Hey - I'm browsing around on the World's Healthiest Food Web site (actually preparing to write an article about potatoes - they are a nightshade too!!) and found this page about nightshades.
WHFoods: What are nightshades and in which foods are they found?

Nancy - it's been so long since I read about vinegar that I don't remember specifics now. I'll refresh myself soon and share with you. Meanwhile, here's a link to my favorite raw apple cider vinegar. Bragg Live Foods Apple Cider Vinegar

I've used this a few times to help me feel better from too much alcohol or rich foods - mixed with water. Also, "yummy-yucky" tea for colds and flus: heat water, add some ACV and honey. It's sweet and sour (yummy-yucky) and seems to do wonders for a clogged up head and chest.
(I'm actually salivating thinking of ACV - I lvoe the stuff.)

[beatle]

Are peppers bad for you?

Thank you so much everyone. What a great response. I have a lot of reading to do now (as if I didn't already... ouch).

Nancy, I can't get my lad to eat the peppers cooked. He just will not comply. And it's the only veg he'll eat raw (he eats most others cooked, so no problem there). I have this feeling that everyone needs some raw vegs in their diet, hence the red pepper every night. Oh, and by the way, the little girl of the house will only eat carrots raw (anyone heard anything bad about them-- dare I ask?).

[MyOwnWoman]

Are peppers bad for you?

The only side effect of LOTS of carrots is an orange tinge to the skin!!! Actually, you'd have to drink lots of carrot juice for that to happen.

Beatle, do you give the kids hummus or cottage cheese in which to dip their raw veggies? Just a way to get extra nutrients in .... And you're right - everyone needs raw veggies, as any raw foodie will tell you - raw foods are the only source of enzymes we get. Once you cook something the enzymes are destroyed, and they are vital to keeping us vital.
(see book "Enzyme Nutrition", AWESOME book)

[beatle]

Are peppers bad for you?

My kids don't dip. At least not now. (They did a long time back). I think they are just going through a (very long) stage. This despite the grownups eating large salads and lots of raw vegetables every night. (Or maybe not despite, but because?).

They do eat raw fruit, though, mostly apples, bananas, and kiwi -- and we have smoothies once or twice a week. Do you think they get their enzymes from them?

Also, we steam or stir fry most of our vegs, so perhaps some of the enzymes remain intact?

[MyOwnWoman]

Are peppers bad for you?

Sure, they're getting enzymes from the fruit.
But when a food is heated to 105 degrees (or about that, I've read slightly varying temperatures from different sources) the enzymes begin to die off. But since they're eating fruit I wouldn't worry too much (a true raw fooder might argue).

My daughter was about 3 when I was into raw foods, and she ate all kinds of good stuff. Loved to eat a whole kale leaf anytime. Drank lots of carrot/beet juice too. Then came the carb-addict years... But now at 10 she loves salads and eats fairly well most of the time. I think in those years between kids tend to really lose the taste for veggies for awhile. :-(