What is a nightshade? Why do we consider them different to other fruit/vegetables?

Question

I often hear about people avoiding nightshades in various diets, but I’m unsure why. I also can’t seem to piece together what they have in common, or why that might be important.

In: 21

Answer 1

*Solanaceae,* or the Nightshades, are a family of flowering plants. It’s a pretty broad category of plants, including things like tomatoes, eggplant, and potatoes, but also tobacco, goji berries, and a bunch of different decorative plants.

Some nightshades are poisonous (like the aptly named Deadly Nightshade – *Atropa belladonna.*) Some nightshades will make you hallucinate. Some have medicinal properties.