Updated December 05, 2014.

Nightshade vegetables are among the foods that some people feel can trigger arthritis flares. Others feel their arthritis symptoms improve when nightshade vegetables are avoided. What are nightshade vegetables? According to The George Mateljan Foundation, food members of the nightshade family include:

• potatoes (not sweet potatoes)
• tomatoes
• eggplant
• sweet and hot peppers (including paprika, cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce)

• ground cherries
• tomatillos and tamarillos
• garden huckleberry and naranjillas
• pepinos and pimentos

Should people with arthritis avoid nightshade vegetables? According to the University of Washington website, "No foods have been definitively shown to cause or exacerbate arthritis in most individuals. A variety of diets and hand-me-down information exists about certain foods and arthritis, in particular the night shade plants, but none of it has been proven." The effect of foods on arthritis symptoms vary greatly from person to person. It is an individual decision whether or not to avoid nightshade vegetables.

READ UPDATE: Nightshades - Bad for Arthritis?

Related Resources:

• Daily Multivitamins and Arthritis
• Does Food Impact Severity of Arthritis?
• Diet and Arthritis: The Link is Complex
• Rheumatoid Arthritis and Elimination Diet
• Fruits and Vegetables May Cut Arthritis Risk and Reduce Inflammation

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• Join Us in Our Arthritis Forum / Message Board

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