AYURVEDIC LEVODOPA SEQUEL “A FAVA BEAN STORY AND RECIPE”

I have had Parkinson’s for twelve years and began taking Carbidopa-Levodopa (Sinemet) as well as Ropinirole (Requip) with little success in quieting my resting tremors. With these drugs and their side effects, I found I could not follow my doctor’s guidelines, so I discontinued the use of the drugs.

            Much of my time is spent reading about other people’s success with Parkinson’s and resting tremors, so I’m always interested in reading holistic articles regarding natural treatments for some side effects from Parkinson’s. Very few articles have helped my resting tremors until I was introduced to Fava beans by Parkinson’s Resource Organization and started researching articles on them.

            In a very short time after starting my program, I noticed tremor relief that lasted 15 to 20 minutes after eating the beans. After a month of my Fava bean program, I was finding relief from my resting tremors for three to four hours. I believe this is because the Fava beans are high in natural dopamine.

            Here is my Fava bean program and recipe:

Note: You should be able to purchase Fava beans in most grocery stores; however, they may be more plentiful in stores that cater to the Mediterranean, Spanish (Latin American), Chinese, Greek,  or Egyptian diets.  You can also find Organic Dried Fava beans online at some of these .com’s: Amazon, Vitacost, Wallmart, and BobsRedMill

            Soak two cups (or a 15 oz. bag) of organic dried Fava beans in six cups of water, at room temperature, for 24 hours.

            Rinse well and drain in a colander.

            Leave in the colander and rinse three times daily of three days. They will begin to sprout.

            Peel the outer skin of each bean. This is a bit time consuming, but the skins should slip off fairly easy by pinching between your thumb and forefinger. Discard any beans that don’t look good, for instance, if they have dark spots.

            Rinse well in a bowl, drain, and steam in a steamer for six minutes.

            Spread the beans out on a sheet pan and quick freeze in the freezer, about 20 minutes. When frozen, place them in a plastic freezer bag until ready to eat.

            I started eating two tablespoons of beans at first. Another tidbit I got from Parkinson’s Resource Organization was sipping a small amount of alcohol (brandy or vodka, in my case)  when eating the beans because alcohol permeates the blood-brain-barrier, making a greater chance of dopamine produced by the beans getting to the brain. I mix two teaspoons of alcohol with tonic water when I do this.

            Consider eating these as often as you think is necessary during the day.

            Good luck in your use of the Fava beans. I hope your results are at least as good as mine. Please share your experience and recipes with PRO to help the rest of us.

            In Health!

UPDATED AUGUST 2019 in the artcle "AYURVEDIC LEVODOPA FOLLOW UP - IMPORTANT NOTE"

The Fava beans must be peeled before steaming. The skins do not slip off easily, so devise your own method. Use of thumb and fingernail works best for us and peel in batches, so you don’t get tired.

            Discard beans with black spots. Most beans will have some brown discoloration which is not a problem

            I have found taking 2 teaspoons of Jack Daniels, or Jim Beam Homey Bourbon (it’s sweet) works well since I then don’t need tonic water. Wine doesn’t have a high enough alcohol content.

of us.

In Health!

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With love and gratitude from the bottom of my heart,

Jo Rosen
Founder & President
Parkinson’s Resource Organization

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