# Did "New World" foods cause any widespread GI issues after global distribution? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322 "2020-05-23T01:19:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/1 "2020-05-23T01:19:20Z")
Potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, corn, cocoa, etc. are now staples of cuisine all over the world. But these foods were unknown to the rest of the world prior to the “discovery” of North and South America. I would expect that many people in Europe, Asia and Africa would have experienced at least some gastrointestinal distress to many of these foods due to unfamiliarity. Did this happen, and how widespread was it? Did people react worse to some of these new foods more than others? Does the fact that these foods are now essentially safe for most of the world’s population suggest that we’ve evolved to accept these foods more easily? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/2 "2020-05-23T01:52:12Z")
This paper says that capsicum peppers actually are good for digestion because they irritate the oral and gastrointestinal membranes, increasing the flow of saliva and thus the passage of food through the mouth to the stomach, which is better for digestion. [https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/qian/resources/NunnQianJEP.pdf](https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/qian/resources/NunnQianJEP.pdf) (Search on the word “gastrointestinal”.) So, surprisingly, capsicum peppers are good precisely because they burn your mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/3 "2020-05-23T04:12:11Z")
At an English dinner party for the king, the cooks took this new vegetable that had sprouted on its voyage from the New World and not knowing about it served the green stalks and made everyone sick. Because of this potatoes were banned from England for many years. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/4 "2020-05-23T04:39:16Z")
Dairy and alcohol have been problems for a lot of people in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/5 "2020-05-23T04:47:11Z")
As mentioned, if the wrong parts of potatoes are served they can be problematic. I have done considerable research on the Columbian exchange of crops, and I have not hear of other problems. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/6 "2020-05-23T04:47:23Z")
Why would an unfamiliar vegetable give you an upset stomach? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/7 "2020-05-23T04:47:48Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Dairy and alcohol have been problems for a lot of people in the world. But they are not of New World origin, rather the reverse. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/8 "2020-05-23T05:22:49Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Why would an unfamiliar vegetable give you an upset stomach? Example: Eating a sprouted potato because you don’t know you’re not supposed to. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/9 "2020-05-23T06:36:08Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Why would an unfamiliar vegetable give you an upset stomach? Everyone has a different mix of gut bacteria. If you introduce something new to your diet, your flora and fauna may have a hard time adapting. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/10 "2020-05-23T13:19:25Z")
At the bottom level of digestion, though, aren’t our systems dealing with pretty much the same chemical reactions? There are a set number of -ose molecules that our digestive system knows how to hook together and break apart. There are so many amino acids that we build up into proteins and tear down again. So when a human runs into a ‘new to you’ brand of grain, doesn’t your body just pretty much shrug and get on with it? Yeah, the molecules are hooked into a new pattern we will label ‘maize’, but aren’t all the components the same ones that were used to build ‘wheat’ and ‘rice’ and ‘barley’? Maybe a different break down of how many of variety X you have vs. how many of variety Y, but not really alien? ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/11 "2020-05-23T13:27:17Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > At an English dinner party for the king, the cooks took this new vegetable that had sprouted on its voyage from the New World and not knowing about it served the green stalks and made everyone sick. Because of this potatoes were banned from England for many years. This is probably not true. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/12 "2020-05-23T15:00:54Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Everyone has a different mix of gut bacteria. If you introduce something new to your diet, your flora and fauna may have a hard time adapting. I’m not sure this is a thing. Eating something poisonous, sure. Eating a potato or corn for the first time? It’s not like we need special bugs for digesting them. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/13 "2020-05-23T15:12:34Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > This is probably not true. Maybe not, but potatoes and tomatoes are part of the nightshade family. Old World people avoided eating them for a long time in the belief that they are poisonous. And they can be, if you eat the wrong part of the plant. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/14 "2020-05-23T15:23:22Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Maybe not, but potatoes and tomatoes are part of the nightshade family. Old World people avoided eating them for a long time in the belief that they are poisonous. And they can be, if you eat the wrong part of the plant. What part of the tomato plant is poisonous? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/15 "2020-05-23T15:29:17Z")
Dairy products are hard to digest for those peoples who did not milk their domestic animals. Meat can be difficult if you have been a vegetarian for a long time. Those – and alcohol for those who never invented it – are the only things I can think of that have caused problems for any large group of people. Certainly not grains, fruits, or vegetables. Potatoes which are beginning to green up are extremely bitter. It’s hard to believe anyone would eat enough of one to be poisoned. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/16 "2020-05-23T15:30:32Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > What part of the tomato plant is poisonous? All of it except the tomatoes themselves. Same with all the nightshade foods – eggplant, potato, okra. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/17 "2020-05-23T15:32:49Z")
Like anything involving nutrition, you can find conflicting advice. > [@](#): > > Fruits and vegetables from the nightshade family are staple foods for many people. Nightshades are nutritious, healthful foods and the idea that they cause inflammation is not supported by evidence. Nightshade foods contain solanine, a chemical which some people believe may aggravate arthritis pain or inflammation Link: [Nightshade vegetables and inflammation: Do they affect arthritis?](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321745) > [@](#): > > The poisonous alkaloid [solanine] is found in the green parts of potatoes, including new sprouts, stems, leaves, small fruits, and occasionally the normally-edible tubers if they are exposed to sunlight or stored improperly in very high or cold conditions. When they sprout and start to enlarge, even potato eyes can be poisonous. And because they are still actively growing, small immature tubers and “new” potatoes, especially when eaten with their skins, can be fairly high in the alkaloids. > > … > > A lot of older and wild varieties of potatoes have high concentrations of solanine; some new varieties tested high as well, but most have been taken off the commercial market. Luckily, modern agriculture researchers have come up with potato varieties with less solanine, so we are unlikely to run into trouble with it in our part of the world. In fact an average adult male would have to eat more than four pounds of deeply green, bitter potatoes to get seriously ill. Link: [https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/outdoors/gardening/are-potatoes-poisonous](https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/outdoors/gardening/are-potatoes-poisonous) Both suggest potatoes are safe, but one suggests that solanine isn’t particularly dangerous and the other suggests that it’s very dangerous, or at least was before that was bred for lower levels. I don’t believe large numbers of natives were killed by poisonous potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/18 "2020-05-23T15:38:06Z")
The Smithsonian Magazine reported on the tomato’s introduction to the old world, like others mention, a lot of misunderstandings about how to eat the proper part of the plant and the way it was served, no issues about human genes being affected. > **[Why the Tomato Was Feared in Europe for More Than 200 Years](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-the-tomato-was-feared-in-europe-for-more-than-200-years-863735/)** > > How the fruit got a bad rap from the beginning > [@](#): > > In the late 1700s, a large percentage of Europeans feared the tomato. > > A nickname for the fruit was the “poison apple” because it was thought that aristocrats got sick and died after eating them, but the truth of the matter was that wealthy Europeans used pewter plates, which were high in lead content. Because tomatoes are so high in acidity, when placed on this particular tableware, the fruit would leach lead from the plate, resulting in many deaths from lead poisoning. No one made this connection between plate and poison at the time; the tomato was picked as the culprit. > > Around 1880, with the invention of the pizza in Naples, the tomato grew widespread in popularity in Europe. But there’s a little more to the story behind the misunderstood fruit’s stint of unpopularity in England and America, as Andrew F. Smith details in his The Tomato in America: Early History, Culture, and Cookery. The tomato didn’t get blamed just for what was really lead poisoning. Before the fruit made its way to the table in North America, it was classified as a deadly nightshade, a poisonous family of Solanaceae plants that contain toxins called tropane alkaloids. > [@](#): > > But what really did the tomato in, according to Smith’s research, was John Gerard’s publication of Herball in 1597 which drew heavily from the agricultural works of Dodoens and l’Ecluse (1553). According to Smith, most of the information (which was inaccurate to begin with) was plagiarized by Gerard, a barber-surgeon who misspelled words like Lycoperticum in the collection’s rushed final product. Smith quotes Gerard: > > > [@](#): > > > > Gerard considered ‘the whole plant’ to be ‘of ranke and stinking savour.’… The fruit was corrupt which he left to every man’s censure. While the leaves and stalk of the tomato plant are toxic, the fruit is not. > > Gerard’s opinion of the tomato, though based on a fallacy, prevailed in Britain and in the British North American colonies for over 200 years. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/19 "2020-05-23T15:45:54Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > At the bottom level of digestion, though, aren’t our systems dealing with pretty much the same chemical reactions? There are a set number of -ose molecules that our digestive system knows how to hook together and break apart. There are so many amino acids that we build up into proteins and tear down again. > > So when a human runs into a ‘new to you’ brand of grain, doesn’t your body just pretty much shrug and get on with it? Yeah, the molecules are hooked into a new pattern we will label ‘maize’, but aren’t all the components the same ones that were used to build ‘wheat’ and ‘rice’ and ‘barley’? Maybe a different break down of how many of variety X you have vs. how many of variety Y, but not really alien? Most adults lose the ability to digest lactose, the sugar in milk, unless they have the mutation that never stops the production of the lactase enzyme. This, as said earlier, is correlated with milking populations, which historically have tended to be white. When humanitarian programs brought large amounts of dairy products to Africa after WWII, they found people refused them because of claimed sickness. It took a while for the reason to be understood. So-called adult onset lactose intolerance wasn’t in the medical literature until about 1970. There are other intolerances, gluten and fructose probably the main ones. In addition, two other pathways exist that cause digestive distress. Allergies usually affect the skin or respiration, but some digestive effects are known, including abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. More significantly, several diseases, like irritable bowel syndrome, have [food triggers](https://www.healthline.com/health/digestive-health/foods-to-avoid-with-ibs#insoluble-fiber). It’s unclear how far back IBS goes, but food triggers likely play a large part in the difficulties people have when encountering a different ethnic food. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2020, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322/20 "2020-05-23T18:41:11Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > … they have the mutation that never stops the production of the lactase enzyme. This, as said earlier, is correlated with milking populations, which historically have tended to be white. Please provide a cite for the claim that “milking populations have tended to be white “. As per my reading the cow was first domesticated in the Middle East. In India, many people are vegetarian and milk is considered to be vegetarian and consumed by much of the population, old and young. If I remember correctly cattle was reared in the Indus Valley civilization circa 3300 BC. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-new-world-foods-cause-any-widespread-gi-issues-after-global-distribution/854322.md?page=2)