All posts by Parkinsons Recovery

Fall Fava Beans Farm Update

farm update, fava bean tincture

Picked my first fava bean  plant tops from the greenhouse experimental patch (which are doing beautifully so far). Many people have asked how many fava beans would they have to grow to make tincture.  I have 2 raised beds in the upper garden still producing…counted the plants (74) and gathered 2 Cups of fava tops from them on Saturday.  These 2 Cups dried and crushed were just under 1/2 Cup to mix with brandy and make tincture…so that will make approximately 1/3rd of a peanut butter jar of tincture. (which will probably be enough for my doses for a month or so) You can harvest “tops” from the plant about every week after they start to flower…so good healthy plants may give you 3, 4 or 5 weeks of picking new tops of side shoots depending on weather conditions.

I GROW MANY MORE PLANTS THAN THESE 2 RAISED BEDS. Also, I grew these plants only about 4 inches apart in a row and 8 inches between rows…..planted late just to have for tincture tops and not for beans.   If you are growing them for beans…they need to be at least 6 inches apart and 10 to 12 inches between rows (2 rows together and then 16 inches before the next two rows to make a good walking space/kneeling space for harvesting. They will keep growing down to 26 degrees.

We picked our first yellow summer squash out of the greenhouse on Friday and used it on a delicious homemade gluten-free pizza with fresh sweet peppers still coming in from the garden. (Also dried tomatoes, onions, garlic and cut up blue lake bush green beans/ tomato sauce  and a smidge of cheese). YUMMY and healthy too.

Hurricane Sandy is on it’s way and they are predicting a cold spell this week with snow….but only down to freezing the end of the week…we’ll see if the field plants mind snow on them.

Blessings….Stay warm ..

Aunt Bean

Fava Beans for Newly Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease

dosages of fava beans, fava bean tincture

After not coping well with my first synthetic drug (Bromocriptine) for my newly diagnosed Parkinson’s disease, I started researching,  and found PARKINSON’S RECOVERY and a lot of interesting stuff. Mostly, I was looking for an alternative medicine – something natural. Found your information on fava beans, and I am inspired to grow some and see what happens.  I live in Vancouver, a good fava beans climate, I’m guessing.

So, my question is this:

How soon do the beans work their magic?  An hour after ingesting?  2hours? 4 hours?  8 hours?

How long does the amount of half a cup of cooked beans last on a person?

I have no idea what I’m doing, but felt that the beans are working.  The first time I had them, I went to a book club meeting shortly thereafter, and 2 hours later, I think it was, I started noticing I was feeling different. Usually I am the first to leave (10 PM I’m done!).  But that night I was wide awake and felt less nervous, less shaky on myleft side (where my troubles are starting to show) and also my voice was louder. I was amazed they all heard a comment they made, as usually people can’t hear me very well – especially with a loud crowd of women alltalking at a party volume.

The next day, I made bean cookies, and ate 3-4, and felt okay, but felt like my belly was hot. 2 hours later, I went for a run and felt okay, but not dramatically different.

Could you please tell me more?  I’m not sure what amount to eat, when to eat it and how often.

I hope you can help me!

Thanks for all your great info so far. Oh – and if you know anyone that sells a tincture, let me know please. I live in Vancouver B.C.

THANK YOU!

Antonia

It depends on the person when the beans take effect and how long it
lasts…each person and each set of PD symptoms are so different…as
different as you individual fingerprint…we are all unique.  For me,
I am taking my fava top tincture as my mainstay for alleviating
symptoms. I eat 2 or 3 fava sprout balls a day also now and my face
and eyes seem more alive with that little bit of extra l-dopa and I
am sure because of all the many constituents of the beans themselves
over what is in the tops of the plants.

I still need a bio-chemist to work with me on this. I want to know too
just why and how they work. And, very thankful that they do!!

A friend who is using the sprout balls for supplementing her Sinemet
doses says a couple hours later she begins to notice that her tremor
is gone. She uses 2 or three balls several times a day and says she
feels much better using them.

Did you get a G6pd blood test to make sure you do not have favism?
It is so important to do this. Talk to your doctor and let him know
what you are trying to do with natural things for PD. He might not
know a thing about favas, but could research about them. Also, any
meds you are on may have to be reduced because you are getting l-dopa
from the beans.

Some people do well on a meal of favas once a day..but that might
be fresh green favas, not the older ones canned in stores. There is
even more l-dopa in the young green pods. If you know a grower or
have space to grow your own, that is best.

I am experimenting right now on a complete kitchen tincture. It
will be completed Nov 17th and I will post on the results and if it is
possible for “you-all” to make something from the fava sprouts grown
hydroponically in the kitchen to make your own tincture.

There is no one I know that sells fava top tincture. Wish there was.
I wouldn’t have to work so hard! But, it is great to be able to make
your own l-dopa supplement and not have side-effects (other than lack
of tremor and other aggravating symptoms of PD). It has changed my
life!

Hope this helps..all we can do is experiment to find what works for each person individually….and try papaya!

God Bless You.

Aunt BEAN

Dosage for Fava Beans

dosages

With natural sources of l-dopa, how do you determine dosages? Start small and gradually build to therapeutic levels?

Is there a Natural Practitioner” in the Chesapeake/ VA Beach, VA area?

Thanks again, and God bless you!  

Claudia

I have a friend with PD in Canada who has been using fava beans and mucuna beans for years and he does testing.  I sent my tincture that I made up to him  and he tested it (/then had a college boy at our church (who has moved away) that had his chemistry professor test it and he got the same reading.

I am not a scientist..just a person with PD who has studied herbs and have made my own echinacea root tinctures for many years…now experimenting with natural things for PD on myself. I start very small and build gradually with anything until I find MY perfect dose.

Also with fava…have a G6pd blood test done to check for favism before starting at all. I don’t know anyone in Va Beach…check in phone book for a naturopath or osteopath / or check on line for a Neuroscience practitioner in your area and you might find someone that way that can help you.  I just try to stay away from doctors completely and do a lot of research and experimenting and growing different plants on my own to work with. I have a friend that explored the Meridian Institute in VA Beach and it to be helpful.

Hope this helps

Aunt Bean

Papaya for Parkinson’s

papaya for Parkinson's

Hi there Aunt Bean. I have a question about Papaya for Parkinson’s.

How long do you leave the papaya to ferment for? How do you tell when it is a good time to eat it?

Many thanks

John
Perth Australia

The papaya usually ferments in my kitchen for 5 to 7 days. It varies a lot according to how ripe the papaya is and the temperature in the kitchen. In the winter on cool days …I have let it sit there even 8 days once. You will notice tiny bubbles and the plastic wrap will even puff up because of the gas it releases while wonderful chemical changes are occurring. If you notice mold starting  or the mixture starting to become discolored. Stop the process then  or when you see the plastic is puffed up and you can even detect the quiet sound of fermenting going on…stop.

Carefully  remove the layers of plastic and then carefully spoon off any mold or discoloration and discard.  I wipe the sides of the container with a clean paper towel and then taste the beautiful orange fruit. It should be pleasingly slightly sour. I then add as much agave syrup as I want to slightly sweeten it (you could probably add natural honey) and usually end up adding more cinnamon.

Then spoon the mix into a covered container and refrigerate. I use a Tablespoon a day of plain refrigerated papaya on my cereal. Some people may need one in the evening also.  Or, you can drop the ferment (with some ground flax seed or guar gum or xanthan gum added to make less watery) on parchment paper in a dehydrator and dry it like “fruit leather cookies.” Bag these in ziplocks and refrigerate.

Or, you can go further and put broken up “fruit leather” into a coffee grinder and powder them. So, you can use all 3 ways and start with a small amount and use a little more each day until you find your perfect amount. Everybody is different.

Reminder: Do NOT use papaya if you have a latex allergy or are pregnant.
If you are taking MAOI drug go very slowly with this. One person I know who is on an MAOI tried the papaya and did not have any ill effect of blood pressure going up…the fermentation process may be too short (unlike cheeses/ kraut which can “upset your apple cart” with those meds. If yogurts don’t bother you the papaya may not either, but go slow and start with a very small amount to make sure your body reacts favorably to it.

Everybody is different and special. Every case of Parkinson’s disease is different and special. Listen to your body. It will tell you if it is something good for you and if you need more or less of something.

Read Dr. Laurie Mischleys Book “Natural Therapies for Parkinson’s Disease.” It will give you great insights into how you can help yourself feel better and ways to lessen symptoms.

Have a blessed day!!

Aunt Bean

Nutrition for Parkinson’s

nutrition for Parkinson's

Here is a update on Aunt Bean’s farm where the focus is on Nutrition for Parkinson’s.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
www.parkinsonsrecovery.com

I managed to get all the sweet potato vines pulled off and taters dug Fri and Sat…they are washed and curing on pallets in the greenhouse. Dad (now 87 yrs old) helped by hosing them off real good.

It is supposed to get in the 30’s tonight and tomorrow nite. Sweet peppers and fig tree are covered yet with fruit. Must begin to try to cover them today after church. The Fig tree is huge and it will be quite an undertaking that probably won’t work., but next winter, Lord willing…there will be a couple fig trees growing in the greenhouse …some folks get 2 crops a year that way. We’ll see if it works in an unheated greenhouse!

Was reading this week in Dr Laurie Mischley’s Book “Natural Therapies For Parkinson’s Disease (which I highly recommend!!!). I crave orange veggies and continuously make and EAT pumpkin pie…(sugar -free and healthy) &  usually eat baked sweet potatoes daily. I bake 4 or 5 at a time…washed and rubbed with olive oil and baked for an hour at 425 degrees, really big ones sometimes take longer/ This year I dug some as big around as a gallon milk jug! I expect they will take longer to bake. After baking, I just cool them & throw them in a container in the fridge for whenever I want them.

Anyway, PD patients need beta carotene’s to prevent and break up the accumulation of protein aggregates…very important if we want less symptoms. Sweet Potatoes, pumpkins, acorn squash,red & yellow sweet pepper, carrots and apricots, also high in carotene’s, have little fat and that fats make them work better in the body (Examples:  avocados, olive and sunflower oils, nuts and nut butters). I am really bad to grab a large spoonful of peanut butter to finish off a meal (which a lot of times consists of sweet potato and green beans and perhaps a homemade gluten-free muffin…then,  got to have my peanut butter (Smuckers Natural with no hyd.oil). Perhaps I am being good instead of bad eating my peanut butter!
Nutrition is so complex…but, our bodies will tell us what it needs if we but listen.

I know one thing for sure…I feel better now than I did for most of my life…..must be doing something right.

God Bless You.

Have a great day and eat your orange veggies and peanut butter!

Aunt Bean

Bone Strengthening Broth

Uncategorized

There is a recipe for Bone Strengthening Broth on pg 341 of the book GREEN PHARMACY by James A. Duke, Ph.D. This is the book I came across when looking for natural food therapy for Parkinsons back in 2009.  That book started us on the trail of fava beans! How I wish I could thank him for all his research, that in turn prompted all of mine…and my good health now.

The recipe says to tie fish bones in a cloth bag (cheesecloth ok) and bring them to a boil in a large pot of water then simmer 30 minutes, add to this lots of veggies and  “greens” (Cabbage, dandelion greens, pigweed, purslane) and stinging nettle…which most people will not find growing in their yard…if you do have it…wear gloves to harvest and chop…they lose their sting when cooked and are highly nutritious. I am  sure you can add mustard greens spinach , etc in place of these things you may not have
availability to go hunting for.

Chop fine  & simmer til greens are tender. Remove fish bones and season as desired.

Serve as soup or base for soup beans. Thank you Dr Duke.

God Bless

Love ,

Aunt Bean

Gelatin for Parkinson’s

Gelatin

Gelatine is a cooked form of collagen from bones, connective tissues, etc.
Our ancestors used this all the time…mainly because they never wasted anything, but they were smarter and healthier than we are today…here is why:

  1. It reduces inflammation (good for arthritis, rheumatic pains, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and for faster healing after sports injuries).
  2. It helps improve sleep patterns.
  3. It helps lower blood sugar levels.
  4. It helps to lower blood triglyceride levels.
  5. It helps to heal the mucus lining of the digestive tract (helps with colitis).
  6. It is ant-aging.
  7. Di-generative and inflammatory diseases can often be corrected by use of gelatin.

The main amino acids in gelatin are glycine and proline. Gelatin is very high in these non-essential amino acids (those produced in our bodies). Glycine helps promote wound healing, inhibits tumor growth, promotes natural sleep, improves learning and memory Gelatin solution can help nosebleeds and bleeding form hemorrhoids bleeding from bladder and bowel & heavy menstrual bleeding.

It can help stroke recovery if taken immediately because it has NERVE STABILIZING PROPERTIES……wow, imagine that! Collagen is responsible for toughness structurally BOTH TRYPTOPHAN & CYSTEINE INHIBIT
THYROID FUNCTION and MITOCHONDRIAL ENERGY PRODUCTION……
…..taking gelatin helps alleviate those problems………..

I think we need to go back to the old ways of boiling meat off the bones and cooking the bones til they make gelatin like our ancestors did….only who gets bones with meat on it anymore??? People buy ready to cook chicken breasts or ones already cooked and just microwave them destroying any nutrition that might still be left in the meat.

Our bodies are starving for proper nutrition…what is in prepared foods…read the labels..(if you can…lots of words I never heard of that can’t even be pronounced). What are you putting into your body??

If you have PD like me…we need all the good nutrition we can get so our bodies can function properly the way God intended for us to function. If you can’t read it…don’t eat it!

I basically eat deer meat occasionally in very small portions and fish…..but, since this research I have been taking a Tablespoon of kosher gelatin before bed in warm water (you can take up to 2 TBS). It seems to give me better quality of sleep and I wake up more refreshed and rested in the morning.

I purchased my gelatin from a health food store probably 8 years ago and used it twice to make jello (that I wasn’t very pleased with at the time…too used to JELLO at the time). Suddenly my quart jar is half empty….I even put a couple TBS into the warm stevia tea and added to my last batch of fava sprout balls so that I would consume a little more during the day.

This is only my research on internet…Research it yourselves and decide whether gelatin would be something helpful in your life….

God Bless

Love , Aunt Bean

Tincture from Fava Beans Grown Hydroponically

fava bean tincture

I tried a fava beans tincture using the whole young plant grown hydroponically in the kitchen. I did not dry them  before tincture-ing and am going to try a new experiment starting today…growing the seeds in shallow water to about 6 inches tall and then DRYING the whole plant(seed  at bottom also) before tincturing.

I don’t think the small amount I made with fresh plant in the blender will keep well…so I am back to drying the plant parts first…will let you know in a about 6 weeks if I am happier with this batch….and I will count bean plants and get exact measurements of dried plant material to put in jar with how much brandy to share with you.

It is wonderful to be able to make your own l-dopa supplements and not have to depend on synthetic l-dopa that causes yet other symptoms I still need a researcher here to test things. Guess the Lord is just holding off ’til the right person He has chosen is available.

I sometimes feel impatient and have to remind myself. ..To everything, there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven I look at those around me suffering with the symptoms of PD and the side-effects from the medications and want so much for them to be able to have a better quality of life and feel good …the way I do. God has made every natural we need to survive. EVERYTHING!

We just need to learn how to use what he has given and be thankful each day for our many blessings…too many to count.

May God Bless You!

Aunt Bean

Update on Aunt Bean’s Fava Beans Farm

farm update

A lot has been happening on the fava  beans farm. There are several little raised beds of fava beans growing…including, surprisingly enough, a few fava beans plants in the greenhouse under severe heat. The only thing I can figure with this is the humidity, because of the condensation on the inside of the plastic.

Sometimes when I walk in my glasses completely steam up for a few seconds (like when opening an oven door to peek in). Anyway, the favas look healthy…it’s a micro climate in there, as long as it is watered things grow well. So we’ll see if favas can make it to a harvest this way.

I am busy making raised beds …getting ready to plant bush beans /pole beans/spinach/carrots tomatoes /sweet peppers/ cabbage /broccoli/Brussel sprouts/ kiwi etc…

Also trying to make new plants from my existing ones….fig/ grape/ roses/ comfrey, etc. Have  put in seeds of the last papaya that I now have  fermenting…

Half of the greenhouse is now ready to plant. It will take a week to clear and make beds of the last half…a lot of work digging the ground/making beds, hauling in soil from outside and probably going for another load of compost to make it more fertile and loose.

May God Bless You !!

Aunt Bean

Recipe for Fava Beans Sprout Balls

fava beans sprout balls recipe

It is easy to make fava beans sprout balls. Purchase organic sprout-able fava beans. In a bowl soak 2 cups dry fava beans in 5 cups of filtered water for 12 to 24 hrs. Then, rinse and drain for 3 days. Peel the outer rubbery skins off. Rinse again being careful not to brake off sprouts.

CUT AWAY ANY BAD SPOTS..and discard. They should be nearly white and pretty. Then steam for 6 minutes (about a cup at a time). They are ready to eat at this point or make them into sprout balls or freeze as is and eat as needed.

1 sprout = approx 2 mg l-dopa

Ingredients for Fava Beans Sprout Balls:

Warm 3/4 Cup Stevia Tea (recipe below)
Add one 16 oz jar natural Smuckers Peanut Butter (without hydrogenated oil)
2 TBS sorghum molasses
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Mix

Add 1 Cup ground raw pumpkin seeds and a little ground oatmeal to help stick it together. Ground pumpkin seeds help with tremors also.

Add finely mashed steamed fava sprouts. This reduces the need for other ingredients if a lot were bad.

Mix well. Form into one inch bite size balls. Freeze in single layers in a container with wax paper between layers or in ziplock bags for easy access.

I now eat 2 to 3  fava beans sprout balls a day in addition to taking my tincture from the tops of fava beans.

Recipe for STEVIA TEA:

Use dried stevia leaves or powder. Herbal Advantage carries them. Place 2 teas crushed leaves or powder in a 16 oz jar. Fill jar with boiling water. Cover steep 20 min to make tea. Strain. Use liquid as a sweetener replacement in recipees.

TWEEK SPROUT BALLS TO SUIT YOUR PERSONAL TASTE. Add what you like to eat.

God Bless………….

Happy sprouting

Aunt Bean