If you are a fan of bell peppers, you might have asked yourself at some point if these fruits can be classified as nightshades. Well, wonder no more, because in today’s post, we tackle this and other questions about bell peppers.
Are Bell Peppers Nightshades?
We’ll unpack this in greater detail below, but the short answer is yes, bell peppers belong to the family of plants known as nightshades.
The term nightshades refers to a family of flowering plants (scientific name: solanaceae) that comprises about 2,700 species, including some commonly found in any American kitchen, such as tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and bell peppers.
But why are nightshades important? Well, nightshades are a topic of conversation among food lovers because some people (including Tom Brady!) prefer to avoid nightshades.
This is far from a new fad. Since antiquity, people have associated nightshades with poisonous
For example, as we saw in a previous post, people in 1700s France believed that potatoes caused leprosy and avoided them at all costs (they were wrong, of course).
So, Are Nightshades Good for You?
At this point, you might be asking yourself whether nightshades have any negative effects, as some believe.
While there are many myths swirling around these group of fruits and vegetables, “medical evidence does not support” these claims, according to the Harvard Medical School,
However, everyone reacts differently to certain foods. If you notice any form of discomfort after consuming nightshades, or if you suffer from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) or an autoimmune disease, check with your physician to determine if it would be a good idea to cut nightshades out from your diet.
To learn more about bell peppers, check out our previous posts, “Is a Bell Pepper a Fruit or a Vegetable?” and “Which Bell Peppers Are the Sweetest?”
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