Recently it was pointed out to me the Gogi berries are a popular term for (Lycium Barbarum) which are a nightshade. They are normally called Wolfberries and under this new and pleasant sounding name they are being pumped out to the masses in the form of super health drinks. “Miracle Berries” They are often found in juices made with açaí berries. (which are not a nightshade)
As I detail in my book, their are nearly a hundred different nightshade plants–This alone makes them hard to track. However, when processed and renamed they are almost impossible to find.
Another hiding spot is “modified food starch” aka potato starch. If it is called corn starch it is not a nightshade. This “modified food starch” is a heavy duty binder for many baked and commercially processed foods.
- Modified Food Starch (made from potatoes)
- Gogi Berries, Wolf Berries
- Commercial breads (producers use potato water to process bread)
One of the tests to see if your bread contains potato water is how long does it stay soft. Breads made without potato water generally become hard in a day or two. Exceptions are breads made with lots of olives, cheese, and other fillers.
- “Spices” you can assume when the label says “Spices” that it contains nightshades, generally pepper.
- “Mexican/Spanish Style”: this generally means that some kind of pepper such as jalapeño is part of the mixture.
- Spanish Rice is made with Tomatoes
- Vegetable Juices generally are tomato based
- Rice Crackers generally made with potato flour
- Sauces: many commercial sauces use a potato flour as a thickener. Asian sauces can use tomatoes the same with Bar-B-Que Sauce
Learn more about Nightshades!