Tomatoes & Joint Pain
The effects that tomatoes have on joint pain is up for debate. Some believe that eating tomatoes triggers joint pain. Others believe that eating tomatoes and increasing vitamin C in the body can help ease joint pain.
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Joint Pain
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A number of medical conditions can cause joint pain, ranging from infection to gout. Arthritis is one of the most common causes of joint pain.
Vitamin C
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Tomatoes contain the most vitamin C out of any vegetable. Vitamin C is essential for growth and repair of tissue in the body.
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Effects
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According to a study at Boston University Medical Center, arthritis sufferers with a high vitamin C intake are three times less likely to injure their joints. A study at Duke University, on the other hand, found that prolonged exposure to vitamin C can worsen arthritis.
Nightshades
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Tomatoes, along with potatoes and eggplants, are part of a group of foods which grow during the night, known as nightshades. Nighshades contain solanine, which is said to have a negative impact on calcium balance that results in joint pain, according to Norman F. Childers, a former professor of horticulture at Rutgers University.
Tomatine
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According to Dr. Mendel Friedman of the Federal Department of Agriculture, tomatoes are safe and don't even contain solanine, but a separate alkaloid known as tomatine. He and his colleagues conducted a study in 2000 in which lab animals ingested tomatine and it all passed through the animals unabsorbed.
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