-
20
Jun -
Potato Intolerance
Potato the least offensive food when tested
Lots of people, including me, avoid potato in their diet. Hard to understand why when according to YORKTEST a potato intolerance, is the least likely to come back on their intolerance test results. Out of eight thousand food intolerance test resuts less than 1% tested had a potato intolerance.
I have recently been reintroducing some amounts of potatoes back into my diet and so far I am having a bit of a foodie revelation. Can’t tell you how good even just a small jacket potato tasted last night with a huge plate of veggies, it was a revelation.
One of my food intolerance’s is gluten, which means lots of foods are out that often accompany dishes and provide the carbohydrates of a meal. So having potato back in my life does make things a little easier, especially when a few chips are thrown in the mix. I was never really a big chip fan before, but a small chips side dish, in what I call a posh pub, now and again really are going down a treat so its a relief to know that I don’t have a potato intolerance.
Lots of people avoid potato, due to the high numbers of people now on low carb diets, meaning the potato is consigned to the sin bin for lots of people. So what is the low down on the humble potato and why does it get such a bad wrap. With this news on the potato intolerance low down I am on a mission to investigate. So people let us know your potato thoughts and stories.
- Published by Miranda in: Being a Fussy Foodie
- If you like this blog please take a second from your precious time and subscribe to my rss feed!
62 Responses to “Potato Intolerance”
We hear so much about ‘superfood’ grains like quinoa and couscous that we seem to have neglected the poor potato so it’s great to be reminded . Potatoes are a great, cheap staple and so long as we keep the portion size sensible and don’t add saturated fats (as may be the case with roast potatoes, potato salad, etc), they are a very healthy part of a balanced diet, especially for those for whom wheat or gluten is off the menu.
I have a potato intolerance- if I eat potatoes, I get outbreaks of folliculitis all over my back and my thighs. If I don’t eat potatoes, my skin is clear (aside from the occasional small pimple due to hormonal changes.)
I’ve battled folliculitis for years with no results from modern medicine, and turned to a Naturopath for dietary help. In a matter of a month following a strict diet, my constant outbreak of boils has disappeared. I was on antibiotics for years and never had such amazing results as I did when I simply cut out certain foods (Potatoes being the main one- I was already lactose intolerant so cutting that out wasn’t even a problem!)
I am allergic to potatoes (and all other deadly nightshades but potato is the strongest). I suffered with severe back pain and joint pain for years before discovering the humble potato was the cause!! It is incredibly hard to avoid completely as potato starch appears to be in everything!!
I have the same reaction from potatoes, they were very low on my food allergy blodd test, but even if I eat a french fry, I get a boil on my neck or face, it then turns dark red & then leaves a hole….so obviously I stay away…I looked at my results & it says “white potato”, I wonder if I can eat red potatoes then? I have been to afraid to try……I know I should ask my naturopath Dr……..she is 400 miles away so I don’t see her much……
I’m curious (because I think I might have the same issues), what else you have been avoiding?
Hi Nicole, thank you for posting your comment, it definitely opens our eyes to hear about our readers experiences.
You must be so relieved to have identified whats causing your folliculitis – I wonder if they can identify what it is within potato that causes your condition to flare up?
It’s frustrating that modern medicine can often discount food intolerances when trying to find the cause of medical conditions, particularly when you’ve been on anti biotics for years! This just goes to show that looking at your diet and the effect foods are having on your body should definitely be considered as part of the investigation when people are suffering from medical conditions.
I’m glad you’ve eventually had positive results. Keep us posted with how you get on with your new eating regime!
I also have a potato intolerance – I have now avoided potatoes for 13 years, and if I ever break down and have a few french fries or potato chips I get symptoms within a few hours. Symptoms for me are: depression, sluggish thinking, lethargy, irritability, anxiety, and my voice very quiet and comes out in a monotone. For years I struggled with these symptoms, thinking that it was just me and that I could somehow work through it with personal growth and better management of my emotions. I also had a difficult time making and keeping friends, and was painfully shy. It affected every area of my life.
I discovered my potato intolerance by accident, after having tried all sorts of things to find the source of my “mood” problem, when my mother was telling me about some muscle testing she had done (which I am skeptical about) that included potato. Something she said made me consciously link my problem moods with eating a lot of potatoes, and I completely eliminated them from my diet. My symptoms completely stopped, and three months later when I deliberately ate a potato-leek cup-o-soup for lunch, they recurred within the hour.
I would be surprised if more people didn’t have the same issue, but I know that it can be very difficult to be taken seriously with less common intolerances. Trust your instincts!!
I am dealing with the same problems
I stayed away from potatoes for a few days and tried them again last night, with in 20 minutes my tummy started making a lot of gas and noise, then I couldn’t stay awake and then tummy pain. I feel really down this morning and I feel like i have been punched in the gut, I also feel negative about everything around me.
Thank you for your help.
john
An addition to my previous post: the symptoms that went away completely were UNEXPLAINABLE bouts of depression, sluggish thinking, lethargy, irritability, anxiety, etc. Of course all of these can occur within context of events in my life even without eating potato, but they are rare and have a more obvious source (like lack of sleep, dehydration, work stress, etc.). And I still had bad social habits stemming from my shyness and lack of practice with people, so I had to learn how to “be” in the world at the age of 27. Long story less long: I think eliminating potatoes made it possible for me do this.
Hello Jenny thanks for sharing your story, amazing how extreme the reactions can be and how little support there is out there for true food intolerances. Fantastic that you managed to work it out and now living a much happier full life because of no potatoes.
Hi there, i suffer from soya, gluten, nut, fruit and potato intollerance/allergy, my life is an actual living nightmare, at the moment i live off meat, certain veg & dairy foods mainly. i cant do anything with my friends because of unbearable embarrassing symptoms, i am so lethargic that just moving makes me tired and dizzy. my nose is always runny/blocked, my body aches/ my skin is bad, so many problems, at the moment im having really bad digestion problems. the worst part is the stress of having not much help and trying to convince people that this is genuine. i have loads of time off work and i am depressed, i actually dont know how im coping but i just am, the doctors are trying to help me but even avoiding my allergens doesnt seem to be helping me much so i feel helpless, what else could it be?!!!!! sorry, just needed to express my story
Morning Mark
Thanks for getting in touch – and I know where u are coming from! I am no doctor or nutritionist but I can def share my experience and point you in the direction of where to get some help and also how you can help yourself too.
It would help me if I had a bit more information…
1) Might seem random question do you like cooking?
2) Are you eating sugar?
3) What’s a typically day to what you might eat?
4) What is your tongue like – any cracks, bite marks, whiteness, soreness? (really good indication of health)?
5) Do you take any tablets?
6) How long have you had the symptoms and any ideas of the trigger to it all starting?
I might have more questions from that, would love to help you out.
I found getting any support medical or otherwise really tricky. One day I had a realisation tho that I had to sort this out and get myself back and healthy again, was tough at the time but really worth it now. Still have symptoms that I started with but much milder and feel like I have my life back which is a great feeling. So if you can try to keep positive – there are lots of tasty feel good foods that I think you can have, which we can move on to.
I look forward to hearing from you again
Miranda
I sympathise. Our son is 4years old and suffers intolerances to all those foods too. We are trying EPD. Try researching it, see if it’s something you are interested in trying for yourself. It is a series of injections which help desensitise the body to many allergens and intolerances. Good luck.
hay good info, just nice to know I wasent being a hypo about how my body reacted to the tater. I thought maybe I was kinda nutz.its a good thing to listen to our body.
I am 27 and found out I had leaky gut and candida in January of 08. I have since been on the candida diet and supplements to try and restore my system. Along with that, the Alcat test resulted in my being intolerant to beef, white potato, can sugar, wheat, yeast… to name a few. It is very hard to live without all these and maintain a healthy balanced diet. I found it quite odd to have a severe intolerance to white potato. I dont know exactly what it does to me, because I have so many constant symtpoms that its hard to distinguish what is causing what.
My 2-1/2 year old daughter has a severe vomiting reaction to potatoes and eggs. It started about a year ago when she was 18 months and took us 6 months and 10 episodes to figure it out by process of elimination and food logs. She had some blood allergy tests done and all came back negative, even egg. They didn’t test for potatoes since it wasn’t suspected at the time. But it has been reconfirmed for us a couple of times when we accidentally gave her food containing either potato or egg. Within a couple of hours of eating it she will have sudden rapid-fire vomiting until she is completely empty. Then after resting a few hours she is absolutely back to normal. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I can’t find anything with these symptoms anywhere.
I realize it’s been a year since you wrote that, and don’t know if you’ll get this, but I have the exact same symptoms. First, it started with eggs, and over the past few months, it’s doing the same with potatoes. My stomach just refuses to digest it and it all comes back up. Then I feel fine.
Have you been able to discover anything?
I am 34 and after many years of suffering with IBS, chronic urticaria (every day for most of the year), sleep problems, arthiritus (caused again by the potatoes affecting my bones), major water retension, etc, etc, I had a MORA test and was told that I was allergic to potatoes and it was practically poisoning my body that I would need to completely cut them out of my diet. My problem is that other than potatoes cooked in various ways and crisps, how would I know what other foods contain potatoes? They have gluten free products out there now, but no potatoe or potatoe starch free products that I know of. After completely removing potatoes from my diet I no longer suffer from urticaria and other syptoms are improving, but I had a pot noodle yesterday and rushed to the toilet. I looked at the packaging and noticed it had potato starch in. Can anyway tell me where I can get a list of foods containing potato or anything associated with it as I really struggling at the moment. I am going back to the doctors in two weeks, but wanted to see if there is anywhere I can get this information from first.
Many thanks in advance
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
I am dealing with similar frustrations from navigating around a potato intolerance. I have also discovered that modified potato starch is in a lot of foods (sometimes even in processed, grilled chicken!) I don’t have a good list of non potato-containing foods, as I’m looking for one too, but I can advise that many “enriched” products contain synthetically-grown vitamins which are grown on a potato base. These vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin), when added to food, can trigger a reaction in people with a potato intolerance. I hope this info helps you!
–Cristine
One more thing…
Dextrose is a potato sugar derivative often found in canned foods, bacon, lunch meats, ham, and iodized salt. It’s something that should ideally be avoided by people with a potato intolerance.
Hi Michelle,
I am a bit concerned that you were told potatoes were poisoning your body. Allergies can be diagnosed by antibody (IgE) tests and I don’t think the MORA test does this so am somewhat sceptical about the allergy diagnosis. Also, I really can’t see why your bones would be affected by potatoes – potatoes won’t deplete your bones unless you ate nothing else and therefore became calcium or vitamin D deficient.
Anyway, it’s great that your symptoms are improving but the only way to completely avoid potato will be to check the labels of pretty much everything. Potato starch is used in alot of foods (particularly processed and packet foods) but you will soon learn which types of foods are most likely to contain it. There are alot of ingredients in a pot noodle – can you be sure it was the potato starch that caused your diarrhoea? To properly test the theory you need to reintroduce a small quantity without any other potential problems foods – but this should only be done with intolerances, not allergies as allergic reactions can be serious.
Hope this helps
potato allergy wouldnt affect your bones but my allergy affects my muscles, which is not particularly common- it feels like my muscles have spasmed and don’t move, and at its worst it felt like my bones. If your body does not dispel the deadly nightshade it can store it over time as lactic acid on your muscles.
I am so glad I found this thread! I think I have potato intolerance but it sounded so silly I didn’t trust my insticts and have done nothing about it. Last week I was so fed up with my symptoms (exactly the same as yours Jenny! To the letter!) that I gave up wheat thinking that might be the cause. After a week of not feeling much different I had a piece of toast and although I felt dizzy and got a headache immediately I’m not sure if that was a reaction or not. You know when you are expecting something you can almost make it happen?
After tea tonight (a roast veg medley type thing) I felt my body almost shouting at me. It’s the potato! I’ve always felt a crushing sensation in my chest after potato, especially jacket potato and felt heavy and low afterwards. I just always think I’ve eaten too much, but now I’m certain it’s an intolerance.
So, starting tomorrow I’m going to go potato-free. For a couple weeks at least and see if I feel better. Thank you for sharing and especially Jenny who sounds so similar for a moment I thought it was me!
btw. I also had a muscle allergy test thing, was coaxed into it by my mother when I was a teen and I had such a reaction to…wait for it…potato, that I almost fell to the floor. And I’m sceptical about that alternative medical practice too, lol!
Hi again, I’ve been scouring the net for more info and came across this:
http://www.allergiesexplained.com/20-Potato-and-other-foods-can-cause-eczema.htm
Makes very interesting reading if you’ve got five minutes to spare. The testing I mentioned in my previous comment is mentioned at the end.
Thanks for this post Claire!
I’ve been sick for 3 years with reflux, gas, bloating, loose stools back pain, pain under my rightside ribcage. I’ve had an endoscopy, normal, ultrasounds on all organs, normal. Have just gone off gluten to try amd find out if this is what is making me sick, Felt really good for a few days when my husband was on nightshift and I was having salad for dinner. I have had pototoes for the last few nights and symtoms are back and it accured to me it might be potato so I’ll go off them for a while and see if this helps. Thanks for your help.
I think I’ve got a potato intolerance or should I say a ‘Nightshade’ intolerance as I get crippling stomach cramps within the hour of eating pototoes, peppers (yellow especially), tomatoes and aubergines.
Eating too much of any of these have made me suffer from Colitis where my colon just seizes up – not nice, I tell you. I’m just glad that it’s not just me having ‘banned food’ lists to give friends when going for dinner!
Hello,
I started looking for answers on the internet today after once again feeling the side affects of eating boiled new potatoes. I had never heard of a potato allergy/intolerance before and could never be sure that the potatoes were what was causing my problem. I can eat chips, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes but it seems that as soon as you include the skin i.e. baked potatoes or new potatoes I have a problem. Literally a few minutes after eating a potato with skin on I get severe stomach cramps followed by Diarrehea. As soon as I have been to the loo and it’s all out of my system I am fine again. I have no other food intolerances/allergies and am otherwise healthy. I guess no more new potato or jackets for me!!
All of these foods (potatoes,tomatoes,aubergines,peppers,chilli peppers, bell peppers and including blueberries,physallis,huckleberries… All come from the deadly night shade family of foods and contain a poison called solanine ( see this link for more info: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=62 ) tobacco is also in this group… Interestingly aubergines contain the next highest level of nicotine content after tobacco, tomatoes also contain nicotine… Potatoes that have gone green should NEVER be consumed due to even higher poison content… In terms of comments earlier in relation to porotoes affecting bones/joints… Actually the poison in this group of foods do affect inflammation and joint problems and increase pain for people with arthritis and joint problems so should be avoided at all costs… This family of foods gives me skin problems (acne/rosacea) and now severe stomach cramps and diarrhoea … Also lethargy and general lows/mild depression… I’m a very positive person so it has never got to me too badly … Shopping/ eating out is a nightmare as I also avoid all wheat and most gluten.. Most GF breads and flour mixes, etc have potato starch in.. I also get indigestion if I eat too much rice.. I just have to generally make my own food.. I love sweet potatoes but we don’t have any convenience SwP in the UK ….
Hello! I just ran across this blog and wanted to post my experiences with potatoes/tomatoes.
For several years I have been suffering with acne on my jawline and neck. My doctor has been telling me it is hormones and I’ve been taking oral antibiotics, topical antibiotics, retin-A cream, and birth control for years to control it. However, my problem continues. It all started 8 years ago when I was pregnant with my son. I began having acid reflux, digestive issues and acne at the same time. I took prescriptions for years for the acid reflux, too (after the pregnancy).
However, I’ve noticed that the stomach issues seem to flare up after I have eaten tomatoes or potatoes, or anything containing these products. So for years I have avoided eating certain things containing large amounts of these foods. After a long period of time, I started adding these back into my diet in small amounts.
I have discovered that even small amounts of tomato such as in pizza can cause my face to break out badly. My symptoms are far worse (acne and stomach issues) if I eat a more concentrated amount of tomato or potato.
I am, starting today, going to totally restrict all forms of potato and tomato from my diet. I plan on checking every label of everything I eat because I know that many things contain potato flour, etc. I know it is not going to be easy, but hopefully I can get off of all these prescriptions and straighten this out once and for all! Thanks for reading!
I cannot believe I have found all you guy’s – I thought I was going mad!!! Helen Chalk – my experience is the same as your’s – to the letter!!! But I find it strange that this has just developed in the last year??
I ate a piece of macaroon – traditionally made with potatoe – and the same occurance about 10 mins after eating!!
You can have your food intolerances tested by a naturopath. It changed my life. Everyone has one primary and one combined secondary. My primary is potato, and my combined is dairy and grain. Potato has to be avoided altogether, and dairy and grain eaten 4 hours apart. After losing my appendix and having years of abdominal and gut issues, I am happy and healthy.
Potato is not just avoiding potatoes and fries. It is anything with enriched flour, (niacin, riboflavin, etc…) and dextrose. Avoid all. Yeast has it too except for Red star.
I breastfeed and if I slip up and eat my intolerances, it contaminates my milk and my baby has eczema and diarrea and is miserable.
If you want happy healthy children, get them tested before they start solids.
I am curious where you are writing from. My naturopath in Portland, Oregon (USA) diagnosed me with a potato intolerance and a fruit/cane sugar within 6 hours intolerance. I didn’t know that it was common for people to have one of each. Do you have any particular brand/food recommendations? I am checking labels but it would be nice to have some specific recommendations. I am looking for a list, perhaps. Thanks!
My 8 years old has been suffering with a behavior problems (mood swings) He’s a very hyperactive child. We dont see the systems like you ladies are noticing, but i’m thinking that’s because of his age. We have been changing our parenting tips and he is learning to control his anger much better. We have had him tested for everything under the sun. (nothing) We resently had an allergy test done, and it showed he has a severe intolerance to potaotes. Could taking potatoes out of his diet decrease the mood swings??? I wonder???
Debbe, having an intolerance to potato myself I did some research. I found a really interesting article that informed me about the different symptoms, some of those being bloating,hives, hyperactivity and aggression. The article suggested that avoiding potato will reduce or eradicate the reaction. Good luck
i have not been tested but i am relatively certain i also have a potato intolerance. my digestion has always been finicky and for a while i cut out gluten in an attempt to see if this was the problem. it helped a little, but i still had the severe stomach cramps/bloating from time to time. then i had a conversation with a friend who worked for a long time in a naturopathy clinic and she told me that the culprit might be potato or potato starch, which is in a great variety of unexpected foods and sometimes gets eliminated by accident when you go gluten-free. well, i wasn’t sure if she was right, but since then i’ve noticed that whenever i ingest potatoes, in any form, but especially mashed, baked, or fried, the reaction is almost immediate. within a few hours i am completely debilitated with cramps for the entire night and often will end up vomiting. the blatant association has been enough to make me to avoid potato altogether. the symptoms have consequently decreased a great deal, though i do sometimes experience them after eating bread items out at restaurants and, as i didn’t read their baking ingredients, i’ve just assumed it’s likely they use potato flour and/or starches. anybody know what effect potato vodka might have?
Hi Stacey,
I talked to my naturopath about potato vodka and she said that I should avoid it. Same with rum since I have a fruit/cane sugar intolerance and rum is made from cane sugar.
Many vodkas are made from grain (corn) or grapes. I have not found a comprehensive list of these vodkas but I check the bottle now!
I can sympathise with Mark, i have had food sensitivity testing and have been told to avoid potatoes, oats, rice, gluten and fruit. Trying to eat a balanced diet is a nightmare, I am constantly hungry and eating out is an absolute no go area.
I am lactose intol and think i have other issues too….I am tryin to go get a food sensitivity test done to help me figure out the rest of my issues.
Potatoes have always been a NO-NO for me, never really knew why??? I am glad i am not the only one though….
Thanks for posting your suggestions and ideas, it helps!
I have been intolerant to potatoes (not diagnosed, but the symptoms are fairly obvious) for 4 years. Since then, I have felt a long list of symptoms whenever I eat more than a few grams of potato based food regardless of whether it is baked or fried. My symptoms are:
-Bloating, Cramping, and Diarrhea
-Tachycardia (abnormally elevated heart rate), Warmth and Sweating
-Lumpy matter underneath the skin of the chest and arms
-Nausea, sore throat, chest pain, neck stiffness, and head tingling
Note that this is NOT an allergy; several symptoms are due to the spread of undigested potato outside the digestive tract.
Potato intolerance has often been overlooked but it is a very upsetting situation for me. Nothing is quite like a good potato chip. Last September, I broke down and binged on them and spent much of the next 4 days feeling like I was going to die. And it’s NOT the fat. Fatty foods that don’t contain potatoes are okay.
The book “Breaking the Vicious Cycle” by Elain Gottschall is an interesting read for anybody that feels like food is making them sick but can’t figure out why. Her diet eliminates all carbs that aren’t monosaccharides, which leaves you with eating meat, well fermented yogurt, some cheese, nuts, fruits and vegetables. She emphasizes the importance of a well balanced diet without using complex carbohydrates to help in slowly healing the gut lining. There are other books out there with similar ideas, which leads me to believe that many illnesses are due to the over consumption of starches.
I have a diagnosed potato intolerance. Not as severe as many of you bu tvery bad acid reflux, bloating and crampiness and a hunger I couldn’t seem to satisfy, so my weight was a problem.
I weI had heard somewhere that wheat can cause these symptoms so had removed wheat as much as possible and the symptoms were reduced a bit but not gone at
all..
I went to a Naturopath and she did the Carrolls food intolerance blood test. This showed an intolerance to potato and refined sugar.
Potato is the toughy when you are eating out… a precious post mentioned the enriched flour( Vitamin A plamitate is also derived from potato) and so is enriched milk… Just about everything other that meat and vegetables that you can purchase in a store or restaurant contain one or both of these. At home I don’t have too big a problem because I make everything using unenriched flour and unenriched milk… re the sugar thing I am experimenting with honey, maple syrup, palm sugar, etc…lots of choices, just have to find whcih one works best in what. Another problem is Yogourt… they all contain skim milk powder, which is enriched, along with whatever other milk product they choose. I have been making my own yogout , and wow , it is so easy and tastes better than the store stuff.
Hi, I think I may have an intolerance to potato and maybe pasta. Does anyone know if they contain the same things? It all started 18 months ago and it got so bad that I cut out everything “beige” last year (potato, pasta, white rice, pastry, crisps etc). After a month or too they started to creep back into my normal diet and everything has gone more and more down hill again. I have been keeping a food diary for a few months now and ive notice that I get really bad diarrhea and craps after eating pasta and potato. Not sure what to do next really, do I go to the docs, is there anything they can do?? or do I just cut them out and hope for the best? Help please!
Wow…so many with potato intolerance. Some self-diagnosed, wish that was me. I also, like Midge, was two days ago diagnosed through the Carroll Food Intolerance test by my Naturopath as not having the enzyme in my body for processing potato, hence potato intolerance. My combination intolerance foods are sugar and fruit, so if I eat any fruit or food with fruit in it then I must wait six hours before having anything with sugar. This will be quite an experience as soooooo many things are potato based or enriched, etc. and some you can only know if the food has been tested.
Anyway, before I go on and on. Hang in there and good luck to those of you thinking you have potato intolerance. It is doable. I’m a major advocate for people to visit a “good” Naturopath.
I have a potato sensitivity which results in stuffy nose. White potatoes are worse then yellow potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams. Purple potatoes are not as allergic for me as the rest.
I have a grain allergy to the following: wheat, spelt, oatmeal, brown rice, white rice, buckwheat. Millet and quinoa seem to be what I can handle.
I am extremely allergic to sugar.
My urinary system with electrolytes will blow up in my face if I eat fruit, and fruit will also cause me blood sugar irregularities, and digestive disorder.
I have to eat vegetables, white meat, probiotic foods that do not have fruit in them, millet, quinoa, sea vegetables, Green Magma supplement from http://www.greengreengrass.com really helps with energy and detoxification.
I have suffered from an unknown health problem since NOV 2007. Some call it Depression, some IBS, some Anxiety, some CFS, MS etc etc. I went off sick from 2007 for six months. My body changed at the spot at work and I thought i had to pass stool.. nothing would come out but pain pain and pain. Had all sorted of check ups for six months no luck things went worse following depression, insomina, weakness, asthma and all the rest.. Then I decided to go to India for check up , no doctors there could find anything. Just before I was gonna leave for UK I met a doc who told me to stop eating Potato and Onions for 12 days and take a medicine for 12 days.. he gave me 1 tab a day.. I never knew was it was but i felt my life was back.. But after the course and when i came back to uk… things starting to get back to how it was .. bad bad and even bad with ecema and porasis on my whole body even on my face.. well well well.. I dont know if its too early to make a conclusion in my case but i have been off potato since 5 weeks since my wife made a suggestion and i have never felt better in my life. I strongly believe that potato is the culprit in my case..my whole body functions have come back to normal No way on this earth i would have spent this much time on computer writing this if i had potato in my diet. i hope this helps… give it a go.. Hope this Helps… God Bless..
I have a potato intolerance but it has nothing to do with the gluten. I am very sensitive to glycoalkaloids that are present in potatos. They cause me to vomit. I can get away with crisps that have been cut very thin because the glycoalkaloids are usually destroyed in the cooking process, but they can make me feel nauseous if they are thick cut or I eat more than a couple. Chips, and any potatoes where there is still white flesh are not edible for me. The other problem is if potatoes are used in cooking something else like a casserole or even mixed with the parsnips. Even when this is done without my knowledge I am able to detect the potato the second it reaches my mouth – I refuse to swallow because I know that this will result in a run to the toilet to vomit. I have had this condition since I was 5 years old. Interestingly, potato starch in foods does not appear to affect me unless it is an unusually large quantity in which case I will feel a bit nauseous but not sick.
My biggest mystery is that cheese makes me nauseous but I am fine with milk and yoghurt. Cheese doesn’t make me vomit though – just makes me feel queesy for about 5 hours.
Although, I have not been tested for it, I seem to be allergic to asparagus – as a child I would love asparagus soup that made me come out in a rash, the hospital put it down to soya in the soup – but I am quite comfortable eating soy based products. It wasn’t until I was at university and twice had dinners with asparagus that both caused the same reaction – asparagus was the only common ingredient between all the incidents. I have absolutely no idea how or why I have this allergy.
Are you eating cheese that comes pre-shreaded or do you buy block cheese? Cheese that comes already shreaded usually contains potato starch (it helps keep the pieces separated).
I know you said that potato starch doesn’t affect you, but maybe this is what is causing you problems when you eat cheese?
I have found that most grated cheese is coated in potato starch and so i cant eat this.
Hi all,
all these messages are very helpful. I have been suffering with chronic ibs for 3years. The doctor has decided it is all stress related but clearly anyone would be stressed if they were scared to eat. I am certain it is food related as the symtoms always show up withing an hour or two of eating and are always worse in the evening. I assume that this is when your body is most busy digesting the days foods?? I had an extemely bad attack of gas and cramps last night and the only thing i ate yesterday was a small sausage sandwich in the morning and a roast dinner (inc potato’s) late afternoon.
Im pretty sure its the bread or the potato’s but other than spending hundreds on intollerance testing, how else can i be sure??
be careful with sausages as some of these contain potato starch.
I totally THINK i have a potato intolerance, its very bizarre. but its happend quite a few times now, im not sure though.
but what happens is … i eat potato chips, merrily. i love them. and then every now and then like if i have alcohol – or smoke marijuana. i vomit like 8 hours later (after eating) and the potato is always undigested. im not sure if the alcohol or dooby has anything to do with it, but its very confusing.. happnd again today, didnt have much to drink, and vomitted now (10pm) and i ate lunch – ribs and chips at like 1 pm. confusion???
I am so happy that I found this thread. I have not been tested yet, but I have been struggling for years with symptoms including: bloating, cramping, diarrhea, constipation, severe energy crashes, skin rash/itchiness and mental cloudiness. The symptoms occur within 15 minutes of eating potatoes in any form. I can’t even eat a stew if it had potatoes cooked in it. I also have trouble with white rice, breads an pasta. I don’t have any problem with wheat versions of these foods. I am making an appointment with my doctor this week!
HI there,
i have been denying my intollerance to potato for years now!…. it has always caused my stomach to swell- dramatically in moments…(was a good party trick) but now i am suffering excruciating cramps and vomitting- new pots and jackets are the worse.
I have arthritus since a child (am now 45) and IBT.
not eating pots has cleared my mind of the fog i had accepted as ‘me’, my terrible memory is improving, my sluggishness, joint pain and that lumpy fat around your thighs (!) is all improving. I am going to now control similar food groups eg tomato, pepper to see how much it helps.
i was forced to address the problem after having an undiagnosed anaphalactic episode 18mths ago, and then aggrivation(problems breathing and eye tissue swelling) from potato flour exposure(I am a special dietery chef). lets hope we all improve as we learn more.x
I love this thread.
for 11 years I had this unexplained belly pain. I tried cutting out lots of things. Eventually I was diagnosed with Nightshade intolerance.
I ve had a few hot chips or tomato salsa a couple of times and the pain is back! Phew! The mind boggles when a recurring pain is undiagnosed.
Its only been 2 months so Im not sure how its working out in terms of energy. I have low-ish energy levels.
My question to y’all:
What of tobacco?
It s in the nightshade family.
Could I also be intolerant to this?
I was just diagnosed with a potato intollerance this week! If anyone has any recipes they can share with me I would be so appreciative! We need a yahoo support group!
Hi Jennifer, I was diagnosed with a potato (and all other deadly nightshade) allergy 18 months ago. You should probably steer clear of potato starch which is in EVERYTHING and also tomatoes,peppers, aubergines, chilli and cherries coud also give you symptoms as they are all part of the same family, but check to see. I eat a lot of sweet potato, pasta, rice, couscous, lentils and chick peas to bulk out my meals, and white sweet potatoes are fine for this allergy but they taste more like regular potato- they are good roasted, make into chips and baked with tuna/cheese/beans etc. They can be hard to come by though. Sweet potatoes go a bit soggy but if you feel in the need for chips/roast veg parsnip, celeriac and artichoke are good. I also like parsnip/carrot and beetrook crisps from waitrose. Hope this helps! x
Right! – so it seems I am going to have to try to cut out potatoes! Maybe other nightshade too. I have been off gluten, dairy and yeast for nearly ten years with fantastic effects (I had a list of symptoms too long to publish which cleared up, including depression) but over the last year I have been suffering chronic pain. I have been at my wits end. The pains are inconsistent – usually in various joints, usually in what seems to be my sciatic nerve, and from time to time it seems muscular. Following an x-ray showing 3rd stage sacroiliitis I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, but the young doctor changed her mind when the MRI showed no inflammation. She then diagnosed fibromyalgia, then changed her mind again. After that she seemed to think I was fabricating my pain to get attention so I haven’t wasted any more money there! Last Friday my pain was very much worse after eating more potato than usual – I wondered. The last couple of nights I have eaten Thai food, with only rice, and am starting to feel better, so again I am wondering. I also eat tomato most nights – I generally eat a lot of salad – but have not done so while eating Thai for two nights. What is this about secondary intolerances? How do I find out? It might explain why I react to some foods only for some of the time.
Found this site by accident after googling ‘why a jacket potato made me ill’. I’ve realised that my so called IBS could be a potato/potato starch reaction. I also get a really horrible metal taste and feel like i’m breathing fumes out (like i’m being poisoned). The burping is also horrendeous. Does anyone else have this?
Can eating white and sweet potatoes and their skins aggrivate fiber intolerance. I get diarhea after eating them. How long before I will feel normal? I also am on a gluten free diet. Thanks for any help. Cheryl
I have a potato intollerence, finding it very hard to find anything tinned or packaged that doesn’t contain potato or the starch. I feel so ill when i have eateen anything containing potato, my stomach bloats, feel sick and dizzy, concentration lacking, headaches can feel the gas going down my intestines then dihorrea for hours after. Just been shopping for family takes an hour just to get small amounts of food. Keep having to have anti biotics for the recurring infection in my bowel. A nightmare i now know im not alone.
I have devised a week of different foods for my son to eat who also cannot have potato as well as many many other major ingredients. Making the food is a bit time consuming but it’s v possible to find things to eat. Try “The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook And Survival guide” by Nicolette M. Dumke. My son also has to be on a rotation diet to help prevent him from becoming intollerant to other things. So this means I stick to certain ingredients on one day & don’t repeat any of those ingredients until 4 days later. For example Mon is ‘Millet’ day. Breakfast: millet & blueberry muffins (recipe from the above book- using the flour from bought from an Indian supermarket), lunch: lamb chop (with mint & garlic) with millet (the grain- like rice. Then shepherds pie with sweet potato on the top instead. Tue is rice day(much easier): you can buy rice pasta in Tescos. Quinoa is v useful. There is also amaranth (weird taste! But extremely good for u). There is also a flour called Milo/Sorgam/Juwar(in Indian) flour. I make homemade bread (recipe in above book) and also pancakes from this flour. You can also buy casava crisps(nice- from Indian shops). Hope there suggestions help. Let me know how u get on. By the way, I am a full time working Mum & still manage to cook all this stuff (just!). Good luck. Maya
Wow it is difficult to find knowledgeable people in this particular subject, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
Leave a Reply