After reading about fava beans as a natural source of dopamine, I started eating fresh steamed beans in salads almost daily. I do take Sinemet 25-100 3 times daily along with Rasagiline. In PA, USA they are available, seasonally, at Wegman’s as Melissa’s steamed. Unfortunately not always available and not in every supermarket chain. I also purchased dried fava beans but I’m not sure if they would have the same benefit. I have a canned version but trying to avoid canned foods. The steamed beans are very tasty, btw!
I’ve been more fatigued lately (four years post diagnosis, tremor on left side only) but reluctant to have my MDS increase the Sinemet dose or add another medication. I thought of adding Mucuna but again, not sure about interaction with Sinemet. I feel most comfortable with eating food instead of powder or pills although I do take Tumeric and other supplements.
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Lionore
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I have eaten fava beans in the past but felt that it wasn't a very practical means of getting dopamine so I have been taking Mucuna (15% L-Dopa) capsules every time I take my 25/100 Sinemet for several years. It allowed me to decrease my Sinemet and I now take Sinemet 5 x's per day and I was diagnosed in 2010. I have the desire to reduce more of Sinemet and increase my Mucuna but I am having limited success at the moment.
Faba bean sprouts, if you decided to take them, would replace (reduce) some of your mucuna dosage - it is an extra source of levadopa. My husband feels that five faba bean sprouts provide a similar effect to half a 25/100 tablet of carbidopa/levadopa.
Respected jeanette, i started to take 5 sprouted fava beans (morning and evening time 5+5) i think it is helpful to me. I want to tell you that i forget to boil sprouted favabeans before store them in refrigerater , is they decreasing quantity of carbidopa and Ldopa? is boiling is necessary? if necessary i will boil next time.
I'm not sure that boiling is necessary. Could you try the next batch with boiling perhaps, and see whether you think it's made a difference? I would be very interested to hear what you think if you compare both ways. My guess is that it doesn't really matter to boil them, but I'm not sure. All the best to you, Jeanette 🙂
thank you very much for your quick reply. I will try from next batch with boiling fava beans sprouts and will try to compare both results. i again thank you for your excellent video.
Jeanette, you did an excellent job on this how to video. I tried fava bean sprouts once, doing everything that you suggest in your video. They were very tough and didn't do anything for me. Perhaps the problem was with the beans. Also, I found on-line only two sources of sproutable fava beans available in the U.S., and I wasn't comfortable relying on only two sources (farming can be very fickle). Are the Oasis beans that you show in your video available in the U.S.? Do you know of any other sproutable sources available in the U. S.? Thanks.
Thank you for your kind comments. I have asked the Oasis people if they post internationally, but unfortunately they don't. Because I'm in Australia, I don't know about sources in the USA.
Thank you, Jeanette! I understand that it’s the sprouts, not the whole bean, that is beneficial? As a PWP, that seems like a lot of work; also I have limited space in my kitchen. I have a package of balanced skinless dried fava beans (Bob’s Red Mill) that I plan to use for soup today. At least it sounds yummy!
My understanding is that sprouting the beans increases their levadopa content, though I don't know by how much.
All I can say is that they seem to work for my husband, and that we tried different sprouting stages. The stage at which the leaves are just starting to show as a little loop-like structure emerging alongside the root, the root by this stage being as long as the bean itself, was the stage that he found to be most effective. For us that is about day 5, but the rate of germination is temperature dependent, so the number of days to get to that stage would depend on season and location.
He feels that five sprouts are as effective as half a 25/100 C/L tablet.
Regarding the bother of doing it, you do get into a system and then it just becomes part of your daily routine. It's a very personal decision whether to try it or not. For us, our decisions are based on three questions -
- is it possible that it may help
- is it possible that it may harm
- is it very expensive
If the answers are yes, and no and no - we give it a try.
Hi Lionore, my husband first used whole young fava beans and their pods, eating 2-3 a couple of times a day when he was coming off his dopamine agonists and we were waiting for his mucuna to arrive. And yes this worked. I have also made my own fava tincture from sprouted bean (4-5 days with first leaf), and this works very well too, he takes a couple of squirts under the tongue when needed. I am now making a second batch of tincture, this time with the sprouted beans as above, then i will filter it and add finely chopped pods and 'brew' as per the sprout tincture, then filter it and add fava tops (young plant with flower tips) and 'brew' it again, will take 3 months but am 1 month into it and we are hoping to get a concentrated tincture so he will possibly only need drops not squirts. Sounds nuts I know but it works.
Hi, I grow them. I plant Fava seeds at the end of winter and start of Autumn. If you have farmers markets or a good vege shop ask and see if they have them, probably depends on where you live also.
hi PEB69 , I am suffering from PD , I started sprouted favabeans, I think favabeans tincture is easy to take, i am new to this, i never use any tincture/alcohol etc. can you please guide me how to make favabeans tincture. I am in India at desert climate. with regards
Hi Joshi, here is how I do it. Soak 2 cups of dried fava beans for 24hrs. Then rinse and drain,cover with plastic wrap or bag, leave a small gap so it can breathe, keep out of the sun or too much heat. Rinse and drain 2-3 times a day for up to five days - in warm climates it may be 3-4 days. I let my beans sprout until they have a long 'tail/root' and the first leaf is trying to unfurl - then I rinse and cover with clear wrap with small gap and I put the bowl in indirect sunlight, so a bright room but no direct sun on the beans - the leaf will unfurl and green up - be gentle when rinsing so you dont break the root or leaf off the bean and leave a few mm of water in the bowl each time you rinse, dont let them dry out at this stage, the roots may turn a bit brown on the surface thats ok. it should only take 1/2 a day in non direct sunlight to green up and unfurl the leaf. Then when you have a small green leaf give them a last rinse, get two bowls, work quickly or use two people, cut the leaf and root off at the junction with the bean and put in a bowl with wet cloth on top - squeeze the skin off the bean and put the beans in another bowl, any bad brown bits cut out or discard that bean, they do have a small brown dot/eye around the bean sprout junction this is normal and you don't have to cut it out. Then steam the beans for 4-5 minutes until just soft, not mushy, then mash and put into a big jar with lid - finely chop the root and leaf/tips that you separated before and add to the mashed beans, then cover with 1 litre of brandy. Keep in the dark/cool, then daily with a clean spoon stir the mixture for a month. Then strain through a cloth, let the strained mixture sit for a bit then use a syringe or similar and draw the liquid from the top and put into smaller bottles with dropper or squirter top, the last bit of liquid left will have some sediment in it, keep it separate and use this first. Trial and error regarding dose, start with a few dropper fulls or squirts and see how it feels, the tincture goes under the tongue and let it sit for 30 seconds or so then swallow. If 2 squirts or dropper fulls have no effect increase or decrease depending on the response you got. Good luck. Plus as you are India you will have easy access to mucuna pruriens (ayurvedic kapikacchu) this has higher l dopa content than fava beans, I assume you could follow the same process with those beans and get a potent mixture.?
Sir thankyou very much for your quick reply PEB69. I will try to make tincture as per your guidance. yes mucuna pruriens is easely available in my city. it is a good source of L dopa. there are many other herbal source for L dopa but actually C dopa is essential. i think herbal source of C dopa is only sprouted fava beans. do you know any other herbal source for C dopa or its similar compound? again thankyou very much for your valuable guidance, with regards
Hi, I guess you mean a carbidopa alternative? i have not read that Fava beans have carbidopa type substances, maybe they do, I know the mucuna doesn't necessarily need it added as it still works without it. Green tea enhances the mucuna, but you still get an effect without using it also. A recent post about natural maob inhibitors is a good read, suggests foods such as black pepper, turmeric, licorice, green tea all help to slow the breakdown of neurotransmitters in the brain. Also the tincture works well as it gets absorbed straight under the tongue and is used directly by the body as it doesn't go through the the digestive process , this doesn't need carbidopa alternatives. Use the search function on this site and have a look at some previous posts which will be of interest to you.
I agree with you, but i read that sprouted fava bean contains both C dopa and L dopa there fore it works, ( c dopa allows the l dopa to go in brain cells to convert into dopanine) all other herbal antioxidants as described by you and others too gives strength to body and slow down the reduction/inactve neurons. when when disease is more and symptioms are ucontrolled situation than c and l dopa is needed. c dopa allows to l dopa to go into brain and the active neurons to produce more or desired amount of dopamine to control the body.
Hi respected PEB69 accourding to my asumption 2 cup fava beans is equal to approxmately 100 grams ? and four drop of tincture should be equal to 25/100 mg C and L dopa tablet? what is your guuidance please?
Hi 2 cups of dried fava beans before soaking will weigh much more than that, maybe nearly 500g. And I don't know what the l dopa content of the tincture will be compared to a tablet. My husband trials a a dropper full or a squirter full to test then uses more depending on how he feels, you need a laboratory to test actual l dopa content of a tincture and we certainly don't do that. if you google 'aunt bean Fava tincture' you will find more information about Fava tincture online and on this site too.
ok, understand the ratio should be 500 gm dried fava beans( before sprouting) and one litre brandy. thank you very much i will google for more information 'aunt bean fava tincture' regards
ok, it depends upon the size of cup. every place have different size of cups in their daily uses. normal tea cup prevalent in my country india (jodhpur city) is approx. 8-100 ml size of liquid.
Ok,. Thanku very much PEB69, now here too much hot temp. Due to summer season(uptp45 deg. Cell. ) So difficulty in sprouting. I will try in rainy season. Regards
Hi from Aunt Bean (Tennessee, USA) I am excited that many of you are trying fava beans!!! I do so well. This year am stronger than ever . Still using fava pod tincture mostly that lets me use the whole plant. I just cut up pretty pods when shelling out beans (or you could use a food processor and lightly chop them). Put the pod in brandy and shake for a month and then press out the pods and bottle the brandy. I still collect top bud from the stems to tincture also and if I need a little tincture at bedtime...that is what I use. ( The pod tincture seems to wake me up then) I started taking black cumin seed oil capsules in the morning with low dose lithium orotate / natural calm brand magnesium powder/ and vit C powder/ and Braggs apple cider vinegar / one drop rhodiola extract in a big glass of water in the morning. My bowels are moving well and have enough energy to work all day. Making an orchard (food forest planting) this year...sweating like a race horse (which is good for you too) God bless and guide you all on your journeys. Aunt Bean
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