The nightshades are a botanical family or group of plants the include some of the most familiar of our vegetables. They include:
- All tomatoes.
- All peppers, including red and green sweet peppers, dried table pepper and hot spicy peppers, also called chile peppers. It also includes cayenne and most hot sauces or Tabasco sauces.
- All potatoes, except sweet potato, which is okay as it comes from a different family of plants.
- Eggplant.
- Other: goji berries, ashwagandha (herb), tomatillos, tamarillos, pimentos, paprika, and tobacco.
Black pepper, white pepper, green peppercorns, Sichuan peppercorns, Tasmania long pepper
Other foods that contain solanine:
- Blueberries are not a nightshade plant, but they do contain solanine. In the spirit of being cautious here is a list of non-nightshade plants (specifically not in the Solanaceae family) that contain solanine:
- Apples
- Cherries
- Sugar beets
- Huckleberries
- Okra
- Artichokes
Other forms of ‘food’ that can contain solanine:
- Modified Food Starch (Be cautious of starch if it doesn’t say where it’s derived from.)
- Starch (*If it doesn’t say where it’s derived from, check with the manufacturer)
- Yeast (*Most yeast contains potato, both baking yeast, and beer yeast. **Red Star yeast does not contain potato.)
- Shellac Wax (comes from Lac beetle that feeds on Wolfberry plants, found on shiny fruit and veggies, commonly not listed in ingredients)
- Palmitate Vitamin A (In margarine and milk, it’s derived from potatoes.)