Eat more fruits and vegetables?

We hear this mantra, “Eat more fruits and vegetables”, like it’s so easy and straightforward. If only it was that easy. It is such a blanket statement. There are a lot of nuances in eating plant based foods, because they are obviously not all the same! First off, there are the nightshade vegetables – tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, potatoes, eggplants, to name a few. These are NOT the easiest to digest, if you’re not used to eating them. Especially tomatoes are very tricky, because if you have joint problems and pains, they can exacerbate the conditions. Who knows why exactly? There are those who stand adamantly by the theory that it’s the high lectin contents in them. No matter what the exact reason is, empirically it is well known among arthritis communities and others, that tomatoes and other nightshades can cause or worsen their issues. What I have found useful to do with tomatoes is to peel them and take all the seeds out – how Italians prepared them before making tomato sauce for centuries. And then if you cook them, they become even easier to digest. Another way I have found helpful is to buy them in season locally. From farmers markets or other locally grown sources or the best yet, from your own garden. These tomatoes and other nightshades – in season, grown locally – do not damage your gut lining like the other tomatoes and other nightshades that have traveled thousands of miles and have gone through multiple chemical treatments and storage conditions before coming up on your table. And so, I’ve only talked about tomatoes and nightshades here – are you interested in hearing more about why “eat more fruits and vegetables” may not be the best advice?