Answer: Avoid eating a certain class of foods known to ignite pain in the muscles, joints and nerves. Some of you can guess which foods I’m talking about here, especially if you grew up in tropical regions of the United States, where your summer camp counselor told you to avoid the wild berries of deadly nightshade, which contain belladonna. Nightshades belong to the Solenaceae family and I bet you eat a nightshade food each day. 

The most common are tomatoes, white potatoes (not sweet potatoes or yams), potato starch is found in hundreds of medications; eggplant, and peppers (including all those deliciously spicy peppers like cayenne, chili, and habenero). Tabasco sauce, which contains large amounts of heat-causing “capsicum annum,” ranks up there.  Paprika is a sneaky one, showing up in flavoring mixes or under “added spices” on the label. Other nightshades include goji berries (bummer, they’re the latest rage in the antioxidant crowd), ashwagandha, Cape gooseberries, ground cherries, and garden huckleberries (thankfully not blueberries). We all know cigarettes cause cellular damage, but they are also a nightshade!   

These all cause pain! If you don’t believe me, have a full-on nightshade “party” and load the salsa on your breakfast omelet, have French fries with lunch, and for dinner, eat eggplant parmesan with some stir-fry peppers and tomatoes. NSAIDs anyone? Because all those nightshades are sure to cause a flare-up for you, necessitating non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The flare-up could take 3 hours to 3 days to occur, so connecting the dots is tricky. If you are sensitive to weather changes, this could be a sign of nightshade sensitivity, don’t ask me why. 

So what’s the problem with some our favorite farmer’s market heroes?  Well, nightshades contain alkaloids that accumulate and block an enzyme called “cholinesterase” lighting the body’s pain fuse: Muscle spasm, aches, joint pain, tenderness, hip pain, inflammation, and stiff movement. Heartburn too! And you thought heartburn was related to a Prilosec-deficiency, didn’t you? While symptoms may dissipate in a few days or weeks if there is no more consumption, the problem is that we keep eating nightshades in almost every meal. The body never gets clear of them so it stays ‘on fire’ 24/7 despite all your pain-relievers. 

Answer: You should avoid other nuts too, I’ll tell you which in a minute. Luckily, you didn’t have full-blown anaphylaxis which occurs in about one third of all tree nut ingestions, especially with peanuts, which by the way are actually legumes.  It shocks me that airlines still serve peanuts to passengers -hundreds of people at a time- when there is such an incredibly high sensitivity rate!

There’s a moderate cross reaction with these: Pistachio, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews and Brazil nuts. Of the bunch, cashews and pistachios are pretty tightly correlated, so if you’re allergic to one, definitely stay away from the other. I’d avoid the bunch honestly, and consider a blood test to determine food allergies.

Lots of you reading this are infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and don’t know it because you only associate with ulcers, reflux, bloating, nausea or a deep gnawing pain in your stomach. Oh no, there are many more symptoms, including frequent belching (it’s almost uncontrollable), a change in appetite (usually reduced), unexplained weight loss, joint or muscle pain, chronic fatigue and lots of psychological symptoms. Seriously, the bug best known for causing gastric and duodenal ulcers can also mess with your head. H. pylori can put you in a brain fog where you feel like you can’t figure anything out, make clear decisions or concentrate well. It can even contribute to depression. 

Now, what are you going to do since you’ve been diagnosed with H. pylori infection. Follow your physician’s advice, and discuss all my suggestions below. Ask him about the following natural treatments, in no particular order:

Coconut Oil- This contains “monolaurin,” a natural anti-fungal and anti-microbial; this is a totally harmless approach to help eradicate H. pylori. Include about two teaspoons a day in your diet.