BTW, Donnten, I forgot to mention that Dr. Cordain was interviewed by Dan of acne.org at
http://www.acne.org/interviews/2008/07/10/dr-cordain-phd-in-health/, if you haven't already heard the interview or read the transcript.
RawZi is quite right to point out the links between nightshades and other diseases of civilization like digestive problems and arthritis. For decades, if not centuries, patients have been mentioning this connection to their physicians and being told it's "an old wives' tale." The scientific consensus had also poo-pooed the connection and, since I am a fan of science, I tended to believe the scientific consensus and dismiss some signs that nightshades like tomatoes and bell peppers might be connected to some of my and my sister's health symptoms, unfortunately. Eventually, because of my own remaining stubborn acne (already greatly improved but requiring zinc supplementation or Px meds to keep it in hiding and I wanted to get off the supplements), IBS-C with D and other problems, I decided to put the folkloric nightshade connection to the test and found that my acne and IBS improved significantly, though not completely (complete remission did not occur until I also eliminated all fruits and nuts and kept veggies to a bare minimum and all nonstarchy), when I eliminated them from my diet. More recently scientific research has been confirming the connections and the scientific consensus has begun to crack.
Tomatoes contain natural toxins that act as natural insecticides and anti-fungal agents: tomato lectin and alpha tomatine. Tomato lectin and alpha tomatine can work together to increase gut permeability and contribute to “leaky gut syndrome,” which itself can contribute to IBS, arthritis and a host of modern syndromes and diseases.
The Centre for Drug Delivery Research in the UK and the Faculté des Sciences Pharmaceutiques in France state that "Tomato lectin (TL) is a bioadhesive glycoprotein that has been shown to bind selectively to the small intestine epithelium."
[html=
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T7W-3WMJSNY-3&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=fd27edca692b7072d14f7f8a2ee6bf28]Studies on the uptake of tomato lectin nanoparticles in everted gut sacs[/html]. Tomato lectin interacts with gastric parietal cells in patients with autoimmune gastritis (see
http://jcs.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/95/4/563).
Here is an excerpt of a presentation by Dr. Cordain on MS and diet that discusses tomato lection and alpha tomatine:
How to Treat Multiple Sclerosis with Diet (multiple videos; covers the role of tomatoes in MS among other things)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhkmDHLCUEs From the description: "Of Tomatoes, Vaccines and Autoimmune Disease - Tomatoes are almost universally considered to be healthy foods, though there are anecdotal reports that avoiding consumption of nightshade plants, including tomatoes, may improve symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
In this cutting-edge report you'll learn about a component, tomato lectin, which has the capacity to interact with the immune system in a way that may promote autoimmune disease. You'll also learn about another component of tomato, alpha tomatine, which can act as an adjuvant and boost the immune response to tomato lectin, and also increase gut permeability."
Here is Ashton Embry, the MS diet expert, discussing Dr. Cordain’s presentation:
The Role of Lectins from Grains and Legumes in the MS Disease Process
Ashton Embry
http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=show&pageid=2344 "I want to summarize a number of important points that Dr Cordain made in his presentation. Some of them were new to me and they are most important for understanding why it is essential to avoid eating gluten grains and legumes as well as a few other types of foods including tomatoes. His work has also put the concept of the role of a leaky gut in MS in a new context and this also has ramifications for understanding how potentially problematic food and bacterial-derived protein fragments can cross the intestinal barrier and engage the immune system. Dr Cordain’s presentation is quite technical but to me it is imperative to understand how various proteins derived from foods can be part of the MS disease process on a molecular level. This provides a solid, science-based rationale for WHY it is critical to avoid foods such as legumes and grains if one wants to keep the MS disease process well controlled."
It was quite a shocker for me to learn that some of the foods that we were taught by scientific consensus and media hype to consider “superfoods” are not necessarily so super, and I’m sure it will be quite a shock to many other people as well and there will be enormous resistance to accepting this, unsurprisingly. We are on the cusp of a revolution. Such changes to the reigning order tend to be tumultuous.
