Nightshade foods all belong to the plant family Solanaceae and include aubergines, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, goji berries and chillies. Tobacco is also a nightshade plant that’s widely consumed by humans.

Nightshade foods are the edible parts of flowering plants and there are over 2000 varieties of plants in this family, but only a small number are edible. For example, the belladonna plant, otherwise known as deadly nightshade, is extremely poisonous. This may be one reason why edible nightshades have become associated with being ‘toxic’ or harmful.

Many diet plans recommend a total elimination or limitation of foods from the nightshade family. The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet is one such plan which aims to reduce inflammation by eliminating potentially inflammatory foods, including nightshades, and social media has helped to promote misinformation about this family of foods. This article will take a look at some common myths and the evidence around nightshade foods.