I'm currently 23 and I've been suffering with HS since around 17 years old, which is as far as I can remember. I am a super potato lover. I'll eat anything that's made of potatoes. Sooner or later I started have flare ups and boils under my arm-pits. It hurts to walk and sometimes I just get random pains in my arms or legs. After going on a Paleo diet, the HS cleared up and my pains went away. So I started introducing things back into my diet such as wholewheat foods, dairy, etc. As soon as I got back on the potatoes, BOOM, more flare-ups. I went to the doctors, and whilst she diagnosed me HS she was completely stumped. Only gave me a prescription to a bottle of Hibi-scrub which only made me feel clean.
I recommend anyone who is suffering with this to eliminate nightshades from their diet and see how it works for you!
Hi. So is it just starchy foods that caused your HS to flare? I'm not entirely sure what the nightshades include as a list of foods...? Does carbs in general bother your HS...? If you could let me know that would be awesome. Please and thank you. Sorry to hear you're suffering from HS. I am too. I have it in my armpits. It's a huge let down to have this disease. Good luck and I wish you well.
Tomato gives me the same effect as potatoes does but I rarely ever eat tomatoes. If I had something like spaghetti bolognese for example, I would get flare-ups as well. Carbs in general don't affect me and neither does dairy (even though I'm lactose-intolerant, but that's a whole other story). I hope that clears it up for you and good luck with your HS as well.
Thank you Benny for letting me know. I've heard of "nightshades" but never really knew what they were. I'm 27 now and I was only diagnosed a year ago because it just happened out of the blue. I got the bumps under my arms and then around 6 months or so later I got the holes. I was sad to hear that tomatoes were on the list cuz I'm a huge tomato eater...and a carb junkie. I also do eat wheat bread. God. Why don't we just stop eating lol. Totally unfair. I think we should just wake up one morning and the HS be GONE. Forever! Well thank you for your help. I appreciate it.
I tried to post some informative articles for you to read about nightshades but the post is unfortunately being moderated. I recommend googling "HS nightshades". Everything on the first and second page will give you some insightful information about nightshades and even a lot of success stories. Even people who smoke might have HS flare-ups due to the tobacco content.
"Why don't we just stop eating lol"
I agree with this, it's incredibly unfair that we have to avoid the best foods :c
Ya tell me about it. It's always got to be something. Thank you for the information. I will look that up. Once I was diagnosed that was pretty much it. I wasn't really told much else so it was very helpful talking to you. I guess you learn something new everyday. I also tried helping someone with information but it got deleted as well. So now I'm just more careful so that it doesn't happen to me again. Thank you for your help!
I am unsure about coconut products and nuts, does that flare up your HS? [sad]
Nightshades for me are practically edible poison lol. I've replaced my mashed potatoes with blended cauliflower, it's surprisingly comparable in texture and flavour. Making sweet potato crisps/chips eases me off the crisps/chips cravings. As for the tomatoes, paprika and chillies, it's literally in everything processed.
I'm not a huge nut eater so I would have to say probably not a trigger for mine. See ever since I was diagnosed I've had the outbreak the entire time with no clear ups. It's been a constant thing for me. So diet-wise I'm guessing that I would have a hard time figuring out what would be triggering mine...but tomatoes do play a huge part in my diet along with dairy. Basically everything I eat or like to eat is poison lol aside from the healthy stuff. I'm also kinda stubborn too which doesn't help...but I know I should try to do some things differently.
Yes! Coconut and nuts are additional sensitivities of mine with nightshades being the worst. Palm oil (a coconut product) does that flare up my HS but gives me cystic acne on my face. Nightshades are toxic for autoimmune conditions because those vegetables have a natural occurring pesticide in them. I can't remember what it's called but I don't know why I'm sensitive to the other groups. Before I developed HS the nuts gave me bad ulcers in my mouth which I found out later was an autoimmune reaction. Then along came the HS. Thankfully it's under control and in remission as long as I don't mess up!
Wow that's awful. Mines been a constant thing since even before I was even diagnosed. So I never knew what triggered mine from the start. Glad to hear though that you're in remission and hopefully for you and everyone who may be it stays that way. I've never seen remission and I'm not so sure that I will. I've got to try avoiding nightshades and see what happens but I'm stubborn and I like to eat things I like and not have to change so I guess I'll see what happens...well good luck and keep up with your remission and wish you well.
You can do it! I was so bad, I had to do it. I would have been disabled by now if I hadn't of. I just remember that those foods= pain! I'm a better wife, mother, employee and friend without all that pain and misery holding me back. No food is worth that feeling! God bless!
Hi! I too have HS for 20 yrs. It took over 10 yrs to get diagnosed correctly. I am allergic to all antibiotics. A month or so ago after reading several blogs I cut out night shades, no shredded cheese (potato starch), peppers (I love hot peppers), no potatoes, no tomatoes, and guess what!? No cysts, no oozing open wounds, no bandaging myself. I have had salsa and no problems. I ate raw tomatoes last wknd and oh no! Yes, open wound, bleeds, oozes, painful. It is worth it to me to not ever eat night shades again. I enjoy not bandaging my groin area, I love not being in pain when wearing panties. My dog loves our extensive walks and runs. Thanks to all of you for sharing your knowledge. No more night shades for me. And I'm done "testing" the "theory", it's a proven fact for me.
I agree that it has been helpful being a part of this support system because I myslef have learned a few things. I'm glad that you're having better luck which is always nice to hear. I on the other hand have had my HS for a couple years, I was dealing with it for almost a year before I even knew what it was or diagnosed. Mine has been a constant battle without any remission since the beginning. I've learned about the nightshades thing and I'm more than sure that it does work for people cuz I've heard it from multiple people. I'm in a different spot than some other people who have the HS due to the fact that I have PCOS which plays a role in having the disease so even if I were to try and stay away from nightshades I may never see remission. PCOS is permanent and that alone causes tons of problems. Not to mention that a lot of the foods listed as nightshades I eat on a regular basis. They all play a huge role in my diet but I also have a lot.of things working against me anyway. I'm still learning to live with it as time goes on. I only have it in my armpits as of right now to my knowledge (knock on wood). I am glad though to hear that people are having good luck with eliminating the nightshades even though some people love some or all.of the things on the nightshades list. Good luck and wish you well.
I think processed tomatoes have a little less impact on me, for example I can eat ketchup sometimes. I get the groin part. That's the worse place to get it, especially when they end up leaving scars it can leave you self-conscious as heck, men and women. But it seems women get it more than men do but it's still unfair that I end up with this but my family can eat whatever the hell they want.
People say that their are no scientific studies or links to this anecdotal evidence, well I say scientists need to get their butt moving and start researching because avoiding nightshades is clearly the answer. Well, to us anyways.
Thanks, I know it was a struggle to not eat french fries and mashed potatoes, yum! But not having these cyst like boils has a huge effect on my day to day living. I was told it only takes 21 days to break a habit or a pattern. Best wishes!