Potatoes.. + Sweet Potatoes + Yams?

[raisin]

I have a horrible reaction to potatoes. It's a mix of the symptoms I get from dairy, and from gluten. But Yams and Sweet potatoes also give me stomach problems (albeit more mild than regular potatoes)!

I was under the impression that the three were not actually related. Am I missing something?

[AliB]

What relates them is that they are all starches and the starch content could be one possibility. Do you have issues with any other starches? Sometimes we can develop intolerances to different food - with some it may be corn, others, soy, or rice or, as you may be experiencing, potatoes.

I do wonder if some of us have undetected issues with microbes or parasites that, after gluten is removed, may just switch their food source to something else and start causing us to react to that food as well. Certainly no one really knows why it happens, but as bloating and gas is often a reaction and yeasts create carbon dioxide as part of their carbohydrate digestion it seems a pretty feasible possibility to me. Certainly there are a few schools of thought out there on that.

https://www.celiac.com/articles/21685/1/Mor...ease/Page1.html

https://www.celiac.com/articles/779/1/Are-C...mron/Page1.html

Some also have problems with plants of the nightshade family, like potatoes but yams and sweet potatoes are not nightshades. As your reaction to the potatoes is different to that of the yams and sweet potatoes, that could possibly be a nightshade reaction. As well as potatoes, tomatoes, chili and bell peppers, and eggplant are all of the Solanacea family - do you have problems with any of those?

Although I seem to be ok with potatoes I don't eat any grains, starches or gluten, and virtually no dairy except a little butter. I don't cope with the Big 4 - gluten, casein, soy or corn so tend to stay pretty low carb and eat plenty of fresh fruit and veg with my protein.

[RiceGuy]

My guess on the potatoes is that they are a nightshade. Intestinal damage from Celiac tends to increase permeability, thus the toxic alkaloids more easily get through.

But, sweet potatoes and yams are not nightshades, which might explain your lesser reaction to those. Depending on the nature of the intestinal damage, certain foods just don't digest well. This is one reason why many on this board find digestive enzymes to be helpful. Other things which can help include betaine HCL, and raw, unfiltered, unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar.

It may be, that the best you can do is to simply avoid the foods which cause you trouble.

[julirama723]

You're not alone, I also have trouble with potatoes AND sweet potatoes.

I've had trouble with potatoes for a long time, but no other nightshades (thankfully!) so I am used to it.

I just recently tried sweet potatoes (I think I started eating them in October?) and could tolerate them for maybe a month or so with no problems. Maybe I ate too many in a short period of time after NEVER consuming them in my life...whatever the reason, I started to have gas, bloating and cramps after eating them, and they'd go through me completely undigested.

I am avoiding both foods for now. I know potatoes are a BIG no-no so I don't even concern myself with them. I am willing to experiment with sweet potatoes again, but it will be a LONG time before I dare to eat one again, and when I do eat it, it will be a VERY small piece of one!

[AliB]

I eat squash instead of potatoes or yams. Butternut is gorgeous with butter (I do have a bit of that as it is mainly fat). Spaghetti squash makes neat spaghetti.

Peeled and chopped into large chunks and put in a baking dish with chunked carrots, beetroot, parsnips, quartered onions and anything else that takes your fancy, drizzled with olive oil (move them around to ensure they are well coated) and sprinkled with salt and a little pepper and slow roasted for an hour and it is absolutely mouth-watering!