Can tomato cause problems with thyroid?

Swandattur

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I have been feeling very draggy and down the last few days, and I am wondering if it's the large amount of tomato I've been eating in a hamburger sauce. At first I thought it was some sort of residual thing after having a run of insomnia. I finally decided the insomnia might have something to do with the bamboo shoots I had taken up eating instead of carrot just for a change. The bamboo shoots were the only thing I could think of that was much different in my diet etc. (That insomnia reminded me of the insomnia wheat gives me.) I finally feel like have come out of it. I ate a smaller amount of it several hours ago. It feels very heavy in my stomach every time I eat it.
Anyone know anything that would explain this? Sorry, it might not be very clear. The tomato seems to make me very tired kind of like liver does. The bamboo shoots appeared to give me insomnia.
 

4peatssake

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Swandattur said:
I have been feeling very draggy and down the last few days, and I am wondering if it's the large amount of tomato I've been eating in a hamburger sauce. At first I thought it was some sort of residual thing after having a run of insomnia. I finally decided the insomnia might have something to do with the bamboo shoots I had taken up eating instead of carrot just for a change. The bamboo shoots were the only thing I could think of that was much different in my diet etc. (That insomnia reminded me of the insomnia wheat gives me.) I finally feel like have come out of it. I ate a smaller amount of it several hours ago. It feels very heavy in my stomach every time I eat it.
Anyone know anything that would explain this? Sorry, it might not be very clear. The tomato seems to make me very tired kind of like liver does. The bamboo shoots appeared to give me insomnia.
I'm still unsure if tomato is good for me but my instinct tells me it is not.

Here's one quote from RP indicating "tomato sauce" is a common allergen, although he does mention it with the spaghetti. Tomato plants would also excrete the same protective toxins as other plants but I've not heard much about the tomato to honest. Personally, I'm not eating them at present. When I eat hamburger, I just put cheese and a lot of salt on my it. ;)

Allergies can increase your blood glucose, so you should watch for effects, usually the next day, sometimes extending for two or three days, from foods that are commonly allergenic, such as tomato sauce and spaghetti;
Source http://www.dannyroddy.com/main/2011...ding-a-foundation-for-better-understandi.html

Here's a good thread to take a look at - talking about this quote from RP:
Ray Peat said:
"Some fruits, including, bananas, pineapples, and tomatoes, contain enough serotonin to produce physiological effects in susceptible people."

http://www.raypeatforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=406

From the thread:
FunkOdyssey said:
bradley said:
I don't know if it's the serotonin or the histamine (or both), but if i eat too many tomatoes a few days in a row, I will get a 24 hour allergy attack with excessive sneezing, congestion, red eyes, etc..
Could also be tomato lectins, as tomatos belong to the nightshades group, which are known to aggravate inflammatory and autoimmune disorders in some susceptible individuals.
 
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Swandattur

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Thanks for the response! I think the person with the sneezing probably was having a response to histamine. I get that from fermented foods, but not from tomato. The feeling of torpor just reminded me of how I feel when I eat liver. I guess that means I really don't have enough thyroid, probably. Maybe it's the serotonin in the tomato. That makes sense to me. I did order some Progest E to try.
 

Jenn

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We don't have issues with cooked tomatoes here, but we add sugar to everything, so....

Bamboo shoots were a disaster with everyone in the family, not something I will be using again in the distance future.
 
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Swandattur

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Oh, intestinal disaster or otherwise with the bamboo shoots? I did put sugar in the sauce. It makes it taste better. After thinking about the tomato reaction, I'm thinking it must have been a reaction to histamine. I think I have histamine intolerance, and I realized I probably was overdoing on the histamines not only with the tomato, but with some other foods, too. I just don't get why the symptoms can vary with that, but I guess they do. Maybe the sinus congestion is just the tip of the ice berg. I think I have had it since I was a child, but it got lots worse on low carb. I was hoping I had seen the last of continuous insomnia. Oh, well.
 

4peatssake

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Here is a very looong list of symptoms associated with histamine intolerance.
Good grief!

Digestive tract

Diarrhoea
Diarrhoea alternating with normal motions (Irritable Bowel Syndrome – IBS)
Chronic constipation
Flatulence and feeling of fullness
Stomach cramps
Stomach ache
Nausea
Vomiting

Symptoms affecting head and face

Headaches, similar to migraine
Runny nose and weepy eyes, although there is no clinical sign of allergies
Fits of dizziness
Extreme tiredness, feeling knocked out
Quinke Oedema (swellings mostly appearing around eyes and lips, sometimes in the area of the throat)
Flushing of face and/or chest

Skin problems

Skin rashes, itchiness
Eczema,
Urticaria
Acne (pimples)

Chest area

Asthma
Cardiac arrhythmia, such as a fast beating or irregular heart beat

Women

Dysmenorrhoea (severe period pains)
HIT symptoms go away during pregnancy and return after birth of child

Other symptoms

Chills and shivers
Low blood pressure
Circulatory collapse
Sudden psychological changes (e.g. aggressiveness, inattentiveness, lack of concentration)
Sleep disorder
Source
 
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Swandattur

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Thank you for the information. I have found different sources of information, but both the list of symptoms and the article are pretty extensive, and not ones I've run across. I figure it's either histamines or nightshade sensitivity that got me. I guess I have to be cautious about eating anything new or anything in larger amounts than usual on more than one day. Since I didn't get a stuffy or irritated nose like I usually get with histamines maybe it's more likely a nightshade sensitivity. I've also been having insomnia. I'm hoping I sleep tonight. It's miserable having insomnia every night, mostly because of mood problems.
 
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Swandattur

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I did sleep well last night after a day of no tomato. I woke up with that rested feeling that seems rare for me these days. I feel like I don't want to look at another tomato now, but I do wonder if even in small amounts of tomato would still bother me maybe to a lesser extent, but still there. I'm betting it would. Last night I wasn't feeling too well, and then I ate a carrot salad, and right away I felt much better. I wish I had thought of that sooner. I actually didn't eat very much at all yesterday after a small meal in the early afternoon. This makes me think food irritants are maybe what has been causing mood disturbances and waking up at night.
 

gretchen

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Swandattur, as you have mentioned, tomatoes are from the nightshade family which contain pro-inflammatory lectins.
This article says tomatoes can cause as much inflammation as wheat:
http://www.naturalnews.com/037597_wheat ... ation.html

I've added a lot of tomatoes to my diet the last year due to them being a fruit-like vegetable, but think they cause water retention and mild stress- hard to describe. I read this years ago on the blood type diet, actually.....also, historically tomatoes have been referred to as "the cancer apple"; it used to be common knowledge that they are poisonous:
http://www.greatlifeglobal.com/services ... ns/29.html
http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/articles/nightshades.htm
 
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Swandattur

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Thanks for the links. They sound interesting. They do contain neurotoxins from what I have read.
 
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Swandattur

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4peatssake, I was not doing so well with the insomnia, but had a pretty good night's sleep last night, so maybe my brain is working better now. It might be the serotonin caused the low mood and insomnia. I read that earlier, but forgot in my sleep deprived state.

I also thought it was interesting about allergens causing higher blood sugars for up to three days. I have noticed that with starches. Maybe it was because I was allergic, though, rather than due to their being starches. So it could be some starches wouldn't cause that problem. Lately, I had a much higher blood sugar reading, but didn't think I had eaten any starch. It did turn out the bamboo shoots have starch. They caused insomnia as well as probably the higher blood sugar reading. Wheat, which I have sworn off of, causes insomnia. Anyway, thanks again for the input.
Maybe when you eat tomatoes you get a one two punch. First it drags you down with serotonin, then it delivers the brain toxins.

Gretchen, I read the links and they were helpful.
 

4peatssake

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Swandattur said:
4peatssake, I was not doing so well with the insomnia, but had a pretty good night's sleep last night, so maybe my brain is working better now. It might be the serotonin caused the low mood and insomnia. I read that earlier, but forgot in my sleep deprived state.

I also thought it was interesting about allergens causing higher blood sugars for up to three days. I have noticed that with starches. Maybe it was because I was allergic, though, rather than due to their being starches. So it could be some starches wouldn't cause that problem. Lately, I had a much higher blood sugar reading, but didn't think I had eaten any starch. It did turn out the bamboo shoots have starch. They caused insomnia as well as probably the higher blood sugar reading. Wheat, which I have sworn off of, causes insomnia. Anyway, thanks again for the input.
Maybe when you eat tomatoes you get a one two punch. First it drags you down with serotonin, then it delivers the brain toxins.

Gretchen, I read the links and they were helpful.
So glad to hear you had a good night's sleep. Insomnia wreaks so much havoc, just throws everything off, for me at least.
I know what you mean about trying to figure out what works, what doesn't and what is causing what. It takes a lot of trial and error and then of course things change as we make progress too. I'm impressed with how well you are able to track and recognize things. I spent so many years ignoring symptoms that I have to pay very close attention or I'll slough something off that really needs to be addressed!

Hope you're getting another good night's sleep!
 

4peatssake

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Here's an interesting article on nightshades.

Nightshades
 
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Swandattur

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I slept well again last night, and woke up feeling tranquil in a way I don't think I've felt in a very long time. Well, maybe I haven't felt tranquil in any kind of way in a long time. It was like a washed clean feeling. I did go swimming with my son and got some sun, but no sun burn, yesterday, except my skin feels hot like I do have some sunburn. Invisible sun burn? I still am feeling very good. When I have feelings like this, then I am happy to be alive. Yes, chronic insomnia is really bad for mood. It was only in the last four or five years that I began to notice the food connection to mood, allergy symptoms, insomnia and so on. You have to be very dogged and determined, which I am, since it seems to be the only way out of the maze of health issues. As you said things can change as your health improves. From what I understand, the body has different coping strategies depending on how heavy the burden of damage is. It pays to be very sensitive to how you are feeling and to other indicators. It's all very fascinating when I'm feeling pretty good. I'll check out the link you posted. Thanks!
 

4peatssake

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Swandattur said:
I slept well again last night, and woke up feeling tranquil in a way I don't think I've felt in a very long time. Well, maybe I haven't felt tranquil in any kind of way in a long time. It was like a washed clean feeling.
:woo
Such great news! This just made my day!
Thank You!
 

Dan W

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This is intriguing, I hadn't thought much about my use of salsa as a "stew base", but I do have surprisingly high serotonin...
 
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Swandattur

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4peatssake, After telling about the insomnia, I wanted to report that it was resolved. The article about nightshades had a lot of interesting information. I sent the link to my sister who has been having digestive problems lately. Here's another about nightshades: http://diagnosisdiet.com/nightshades/ It explains about the alkaloids in the different ones.
I also ate my carrot right before bed. Maybe that helped, too, but mainly it had to be not eating tomato again. I also can't eat bell pepper or, I found out recently, pepper jelly made with it. None. These cause bad bloating. I used to think I could eat hot peppers, but I think they might be bad for me, too. The other thing I noticed after getting the first good night's sleep is that I don't feel as hungry at meals. Less food is satisfying at meals, and I haven't been feeling like I need to eat as many snacks. I haven't felt the need to get something to eat in the middle of the night. Just thought this was interesting and a hopeful sign. And thanks for the moral support.

Dan Wich, It seems like it would be worth trying a no nightshade trial. I had been eating some tomatoes fairly often and pepper jelly and peppers pretty often, too. It does seem like they are one more thing that is hard on the gut. So, they could be a big part of the problem there. Who knows, maybe my digestive tract will improve to the point that I can have dairy and gelatin.
 

Dan W

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Thanks Swandattur. I've finally received my ionizer for lowering serotonin, so if it helps some of my symptoms, a no-nightshade experiment will be a no-brainer.
 

Dutchie

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@Dan how do you know your serotonins high? can you measure with certain stuff at home? or do you experience it moodwise?
 

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