Nightshades only become inflammatory when you can’t digest them. This means that it’s not so much the nightshade’s fault, but rather that your body isn’t responding well to the compounds within the food. Anytime food isn’t fully digested and absorbed, it will result in inflammation in the body. Dr. Will Cole explains: “While nightshades contain alkaloids which can trigger inflammation in some people, it’s not so much the foods fault as much as it is the person’s gut and immune system that are compromised and imbalanced. For these people, I would recommend focusing on other healing foods and functional medicine protocols to heal the gut and balance the immune system so they can tolerate these nightshades, and benefit from their healthy properties.”