Credits: Social Media
6 foods you didn’t know contained nicotine, from a nutritionist
A woman has gone viral on TikTok this week after sharing that tomatoes contain nicotine, the same addictive substance that’s in cigarettes. It came as a revelation to thousands, who were totally gobsmacked.
This got me wondering if there are other foods that contain nicotine, so we reached out to a nutritionist to find out more and discover whether you can become addicted to fruits and vegetables in the same way.
6 foods you had no idea contain nicotine
Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist Dr Nicole Maholy told The Focus that many fruits and vegetables contain nicotine including:
- Tomatoes
- Potatoes
- Peppers
- Eggplant
These are all part of the “nightshade” family which contains small amounts of alkaloids. Tobacco, which is smoked in cigarettes, is also in this family.
The following two foods aren’t part of the nightshade family but also contain very tiny traces of nicotine:
- Tea
- Caulifower
Nicotine naturally occurs in these plants to protect them against diseases and defend against attacking insects.
The amount of nicotine is ‘negligible’
However, the nutritionist said there is no need to be concerned about nicotine in your food because the amount is “negligible”. That means the amount is so small and unimportant that it’s not even worth considering.
On average, the daily nicotine dose of a smoker is around 17 mg, a Science Direct report explains, while the average amount of nicotine in tomatoes, or any other food in the nightshade family, is 2 to 7 micrograms per kilogram.
“That means if you eat � cup (approximately 100 grams) of tomatoes, youre eating 0.2 to 0.7 micrograms of nicotine,” Maholy explained. “Thats over 24,000 times less than the amount of nicotine a smoker consumes in a day.”
The amount of nicotine in tomatoes also decreases as they ripen, so its likely even less.
Nicotine is the substance in cigarettes that you get addicted to. It causes the brain to release adrenaline, which produces a buzz of pleasure and energy, Smokefree explains. However, it’s the tobacco that causes detrimental effects on your health.
Is the nicotine in fruit and veg addictive?
So does that mean you can get addicted to tomatoes or potatoes like you can with cigarettes? Well, people on TikTok like to think so.
One person commented on the video: “This explains why I love eating packages of cherry tomatoes so much.”
“STOP, I quit smoking and eat tomatoes daily up to 4 times a day every day,” said another.
A third person added: “Wait a minute is this why pizza or anything with tomato sauce is so addictive?”
However, in reality, fruits and vegetables containing nicotine aren’t addictive at all because the levels just aren’t high enough.
“The amount of nicotine in these foods is not high enough to trigger the reward centers in the brain that are connected with addictive behaviors, so people need not worry that consuming these foods will cause an addiction,” she added.
If you’re addicted to pizza or ketchup, that’s down to the fat and sugar content – not the nicotine.
Dr Nicole Maholy is a Certified Nutrition Specialist and Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist with a Masters of Science (MS) in Nutrition and Functional Medicine who has over 20 years of experience in the Wellness industry.
