Feeding nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes and potatoes to dogs causes cancer.

Is it true that feeding nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes and potatoes to dogs causes cancer?

Unclear. The retrieved sources only partially address the claim: one human-health review found no proof that nightshade vegetables cause inflammation, and an EFSA risk assessment found no evidence of long-term health problems in humans from potato glycoalkaloids. None of the sources examines cancer in dogs fed tomatoes or potatoes, so the specific claim remains unsettled.

Verdict: PARTIAL LEAN · 0 sources for, 3 against · Last checked 3 Oct 2026

The private library was unavailable for some searches in this check. Missing library results are not evidence against the claim.

Nightshade Vegetables: What To Know. (n.d.). health.clevelandclinic.org. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/whats-the-deal-with-nightshade-vegetables

Assessment, G. F. I. f. R. (2008). No health risk from traces of nicotine in chicken eggs. zenodo.org. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.582247

D, S., M, B., L, B., JK, C., J, D. M., C, H., LR, H., JC, L., CS, N., E, N., E, N., A, P., S, S., T, S., C, V., H, W., L, B., B, C., B, D., & P, M. (2020). Risk assessment of glycoalkaloids in feed and food, in particular in potatoes and potato-derived products.. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.6222