Two dumb questions for Mary Beth

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 5:34 pm

Hi MB!

Since you are our "resident dietitian on the board", I hope you don't mind if I pick your brain a little.

I am still in the process of testing my green (safe) foods. I have been wondering about 2 things:
1. (dumb question) Does each color of pepper need to be tested? I tested OK to green pepper. Can I assume that I would also be OK with red and yellow peppers?
2. (even dumber question) Is a "green pea" the same thing as a dried pea? I am guessing that in any case it is a legume and therefore probably has lots of lectins.

Thanks.

Hugs,

Polly

mbeezie · Post by **mbeezie** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:42 am

Polly,

The color doesn't matter (green vs red - that's a matter of ripeness). What would matter is bell pepper vs hot pepper as you need to test capsaicin in the hot peppers.

I think that English oeas and dried peas are one and the same - just dried for longer staorage period. All will have lectins. I found this info on peas: There are three types of peas and the difference among them lies in the way you eat them. The types are English peas, snow peas, and snap peas. Botanically, they all are varieties of Pisum sativum (Pie-sum suh-tie-vum) and belong to the legume family, Leguminosae.

Are you wanting to try some beans? I would love to be able to eat beans again - just a bit afraid to try them.

Mary Beth

Post by **tex** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:45 am

One thing to always keep in mind when dealing with nightshades, is the solanine content. Solanine levels are highest in unripe vegetables, and the levels decline as the vegetable ripens. A vine ripened tomato will not cause problems, (they should have negligible solanine content), while a tomato picked green, and allowed to ripen later, (which, of course, applies to most supermarket tomatoes), will almost surely retain significant amounts of solanine. Green bell peppers are a problem, because they obviously are not ripe, therefore they are high in solanine. After they turn red, as they ripen, they shouldn't cause problems, (assuming that they ripen on the vine). That applies to the various chili peppers also, red is good, green is not, (from a solanine standpoint).

This is one of the reasons why tomatoes from Farmers markets, for example, are usually "better".

Tex

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 1:32 pm

Great information from both of you, Tex and Mary Beth. Thanks!

Gloria

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 8:45 am

I agree!

There is such a wealth of incredible info here! Thanks you two.

Tex, I did not react to the solanine but did react to tomatoes on the MRT, so I guess my problem is with lectins or some other factor. Also I tolerated the green pepper just fine. I'm OK now, but when those big, ripe beefsteak tomatoes come into season, I'll be so envious of those who can eat them.

Love,

Polly