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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.

  1. Joint Pain

    • 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

    • Tomatoes contain the most vitamin C out of any vegetable. Vitamin C is essential for growth and repair of tissue in the body.

    Effects

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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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