Category Archives: fava bean spouts

Sprouting Fava Beans

fava bean spouts, fava beans and dopamine, , ,

All about Sprouting Fava Beans for Dopamine

Aunt Bean:

I live in the city and got diagnosis of PD when it was already hot. Initially could not find any fresh fava beans at all & had difficulty finding dried beams.

Finally found some dried beams and started sprouting them.  What size of dried bean do you use?  Does size or the color of dried beans affect L-dopa amount?

The size and color of the fava beans does not matter,  though they will all have different amounts of L-dopa content. It would be best if you can find a source for the one you like best and use it consistently so each one does not effect your dopamine levels differently. You need to try to keep this as level as possible , and only take the smallest amount that you can to control symptoms. I think the more you take, the less your body thinks it needs to keep making and you want to just give it what it is lacking and not any more. If you are going the route of making food your medicine like I am….also supply it with nuts for thiamine, apples, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon and especially papaya (if you do not have a latex allergy) Gets lots of exercise and sunshine, breath deep , laugh, dance etc….

Recently found long fresh (6” or longer) Fava beans at vegetable stands and market but farmers growing season is almost over.

I am afraid I am using the wrong kind of dried  fava beans and preparing fresh and dried beans poorly. The beans I found are either small to medium sized with hull removed or large (1“ to 1 ½: long) with hull still intact. Have sprouted both but after 4 days most beans but not all have sprouted but no leaves.  Do I need to let the bean get a leaf?

A report sent to me by a researcher said that the 4th day of sprouting is generally the highest in dopamine content. Some varieties peak at day 3. *my guess is the ones that sprout a day before the others would peak first.  The beans do not need a leaf.

Dried FAVA BEANS : How I have been sprouting and processing:

1 –  Soaked beans for 24 hours

2 -  Rinse beans 2=4 times a day for 3-4 days (depended on when white , pointed sprout appeared)

3 –  rinsed hulled beans

4 – ?/ (you mention cutting away the bad parts.  Is that the black along the edges?)

5 – steamed raw beans for 4-6 minutes till tender.

6 – quick froze beans and then bagged for later use.

7 –  Eat/swallow 1/.4 to 1/2 beans as need for symptoms. This is good for me from ½ to 1½ hours.

How long can sprouts be kept without freezing or out of freezer? (mine seem to start going bad after 3-4 days in fridge)

In sprouting….after the final rinse.  Peel the beans, cut away black spots (beans should be white) they can have a light brown spot around where the little white point of the sprout emerges though, that’s ok.  Rinse beans again and steam for 5 minutes, not til tender (you will loose some dopamine). Freeze and eat as needed
I don’t understand eating 1/.4 to 1/2 bean  (Do you mean  :  1/2 a bean   or  1/2 an ounce   or 1/2 a cup?
You might keep a smaller bag of beans in freezer to keep from getting into the big one several times a day, or grind the beans and take out a tablespoon or what ever you need / or the amount you will use each day and put that in the refrigerator.

 

FRESH FAVA _ How I have been processing:

1 – Cut pods into 1” sections, include beans

2 – Steam pod lets for 6-10 minutes tender (fork  easily Penetrate)

3 – Quick freeze & then freeze & package in plastic bags

4 – Eat ¼ – ½ pieces of 1 ” pod periodically – seems to give quite a L-dopa rush if eat large piece, need to drink a lot of water

Sounds like your method is ok of processing them.  We like to remove the bean from the pod to enjoy with meals and they don’t have as much dopamine as sprouts or the pod. If you have a juicer, steaming the pods lightly until just bright green and then chilling them and juicing them works well. Then you don’t have the indigestible fibers. If the fiber don’t seem to bother you….that’s ok. With juicing them…you could freeze in ice cube trays and take out one and put in glass of water to sip on during the day as needed (keep  cold in fridge)   or  add ground flax seed or chia to thicken the juice and make “bean blobs” in the dehydrator about the size of a 1/2 teaspoon and dry them. We still freeze the blobs to keep them longer…up to a year and my friend only takes 1 or 2 a day.    I hope this helps you.

Thanks for your information.

Lyn

You are welcome. God Bless you and guide you on your journey with PD.

Aunt Bean

Fava Bean Sprouts

fava bean spouts
Using fava bean sprouts is the fastest way to get a usable L-dopa product to take.  If you are sprouting beans the fava bean sprouts have the most L-dopa at day 4 or 5 of sprouting. It seems to be most productive to soak beans for 24 hrs, then,  rinse and drain these 3 times a day for 4 more days. Then at that stage, break off any stem and set aside. Cut off any bad spots and peel the out-er skin off  of the bean to discard .  Then rinse the bean well and  steam them for 1 minute to destroy bad bacteria .
I would then put the beans and the tiny stems in a food processor and blend together  (or chop finely together) This you could dry into a powder to take.  Something else you could try is to freeze in a thin layer squeezed flat in a freezer zip lock and frozen , so he could use as needed, but it would keep fresh a long time.

We had good L-dopa source using the ground sprouts for “Sprout Balls”…recipe in the booklet downloadable here (Click on the Handbook on the right column here). My friend used about 8 of these a day for l- dopa supplementation.

The young leaves do not have much L-dopa…they can be eaten as salad by anyone without much effect. The buds for  at the top of the stems about the time that the first flowers begin to appear on the plant (approx. 5 weeks or so after planting and each stem will get one at the top). You have to harvest the bud ball at just the right time or it opens up and just looks like tiny leaves at the top of the stem. Ants and aphids are very attracted to this part of the plant and it is good to harvest it to make the plant send out new stems from the bottom (thus more buds) and for more bean production on more stems also.
As far as going to a farmers field to pick, make sure he doesn’t spray pesticides (that he grows them organically). Sprays will make people sick along with the bees and bugs.
All you will find in the field if he is harvesting are bean pods.  Any size pod is usable from very tiny to big. I would wash them. Open ones with bean inside and remove them for eating..(.they are delicious…need to be lightly steamed and taste like peas) Then juice the pods.  You can freeze juice in small containers or ice cube trays to use as drink or make the Bean blob recipe in the book from the juice,  adding something to thicken it like chia seeds or flax seeds ground, some salt or other seasonings you like . Line your dehydrator trays with parchment paper and drop your mixture in tiny blobs on the paper close together to dry. It works well to put mix in a zip lock bag , seal and cut off a time (like cake decorating bag)
The bean pods can be used for tincture, but you have to chop them very fine and use a press to squeeze the tincture out of them when the 4 weeks of shaking them in brandy are finished. We had to make something special to squeeze the brandy out without leaving a lot behind in the pods. Hope this helps
Love Aunt Bean

Preparation of Fava Beans for Parkinson’s

fava bean spouts, fava bean tincture
What follows are Aunt Beans answers to questions about fava beans. Questions are at the top followed by answers from Aunt Bean.
Robert Rodgers PhD
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease
Questions:

  Ordered five pounds of fava beans online. Now I have separated the beans from the pods and dehydrated the pods. Our questions:

1) Beans: Most are a light green color, others are close to white. Should we try to sprout these beans following your 4-day method, or just cook them via steaming? Does the color of the bean make a difference with respect its ability to sprout?

2) Pods: My plan is to put them in a food processor, chop up, then cover with brandy for a month. My wife wants to put some pods in a Vitamix and mix in some brandy and coconut water and then sip this. She also thought about Vitamixing pods and beans and brandy together. Do you think that will work?

Many thanks,

Carlene and Stan

Answers from Aunt Bean
“Since you have already dried the outside pods….yes, they can be covered with brandy and shook for a month. What I did this summer was skip the brandy and just powdered them in a food processor. This destroyed the non-digestible fibers in the pods so my system could handle them. Keeping this dry powder frozen will keep it’s L-dopa for at least 6 months. Keeping a  small jar in the refrigerator to use daily has worked out well for me. I just put about 1 1/2 teas. in  with my morning supplement bowl of: hemp protein powder, ground flax seeds,  papaya ferment that I have dried and powdered and plain yogurt. Oh, I also made my own grape seed extract this year by juicing the grapes and then drying and grinding the leftover seeds and skins. I put that in my supplement bowl also. Let the yogurt hydrate the contents for about 15 minutes…adding water if necessary as it gets dry as the powders soak up all the liquid. Don’t put this dry into your stomach …hydrate all powders well before eating.  If you put the pods into brandy…it is very hard to squeeze all the brandy back out of them and we had to have a press made to do it sufficiently because much was wasted .So, I suggest powdering them instead. This powder can also be added to foods anytime during the day…be creative with it…Smoothies/ cookies, etc.   
 As far as the inner beans go. The green ones are the best for eating. The ones the are whiter will be harder and less tasty to eat. They might sprout for you if they are mature enough. Try soaking them 24 hrs and then start the rinsing process in a colander 3 times a day until they sprout. If they don’t sprout…cook and eat like the green ones. I would steam and peel them before eating. If they do sprout for you…yes you can give them time to get a one leaf started to grow/ chop and tincture them for a small portable bottle to carry with you. I carry a tincture with me all the time, because my dopamine level can drop suddenly…the tincture gives me a quick recharge within a few minutes and my balance and gait come back to normal again. Sometimes I drop suddenly when playing music out somewhere and have to take some while performing. Not many people ask what I was doing when I take out my dropper bottle and squirt a couple droppers into my my mouth…but if someone does, I just explain to them that I have Parkinson’s disease and that it is my homemade supplement that takes care of my symptoms so that I can function normally.”
Aunt Bean

Fava Bean Sprouts

fava bean spouts

Hello Aunt Bean.

After some research I’ve decided to grow sprouts from dry fava beans and make a tincture. I think it is better then eating pods every day. For this process I need dry beans, for example from Whole foods. Soak in water 24 hours, plant in soil, grow to 6 inch. If I understand correctly, we can cut off the shoots and they will regrow? ( so it on youtube). Is this correct?
Also, why do we have to dry the shoots in the dehydrator before soaking in brandy for a month? What is the drying time? And is the amount of levodopa greater in the sprouts then the mature pods?

Sincerely,

Laura Vish

 

By the research done by some chemists on the favas in testing for strength of l-dopa. They have a larger amount of l-dopa at 4 days of sprouting. This begins at the time they are put to soak for 24 hrs. Then drain/ rinse and let drain. I let mine stand in a colander then and rinse/ drain 3 times a day. At the 4th day time point , I steamed them and chopped them fine, placing them in brandy / just covered for a month and shaking them each day. (It is better to shake 3 times a  day if you can remember)
Sprouts are not the same as pods. The green pods have different qualities and effects. Small bean pods with little baby bean seeds are said to have about the same l-dopa as green mature pods with full size beans. So, I let the grow to maturity, shell out the beans for steaming and eating, then brake the bean pods and grind them in the food processor to small pieces. Then, I put them in a jar with brandy and do” the shake “for a month .  Hope this helps.
The top bud tincture is better for me at night for sleeping. The pods for day , because in taking them at bedtime my sleep won’t come. My pod and sprout tinctures have not yet been tested for l-dopa amounts…so pray I shall someday have someone who will do this so it can be documented.   Good Luck with your experimenting with favas.
Love,  Aunt Bean

Fava Bean Tincture

fava bean spouts, fava bean tincture, fava beans and dopamine

Hello.

My Dad is currently eating 4 oz of fresh fava beans a day. They store he is buying them will only have them during summer. How can he make it last?

If we are making tincture with pods and brandy ( why only brandy if I may ask), shake it for a month and use liquid. How much of this liquid is equal to the 4 oz he is eating now. He is eating pods and beans. How much pods do I need to last about 9 months? And is it ok to drink alcohol for the rest of
his life?

Also, is there a way to make powder out of pods. The question again how much powder equal to the 4 oz of fresh fava beans.

I couldn’t find any answers to these questions and will appreciate your help
very much.

Sincerely,

Laura

Brandy crosses the blood brain barrier, other alcohol does not do this so well I am told. I hold my extract under my tongue and that seems to make it work very quickly before it goes to my stomach.  You can also put the amount OF EXTRACT IN A COFFEE MUG AND POUR BOILING WATER OVER IT TO TAKE OFF THE brandy. I do  not know how many drops of tincture he will need for a dose.. Start small (10 drops perhaps and check the effect, and go up or down using the minimal amount for symptom relief. You will have to judge this for yourself and experiment. I started with 2 drops 3 times a day for a while.  This is my 7th year on tincture and now I require about 40 drops 4 to 6 times a day. Also eating egg plant and peppers are a great support with the fava  and especially papayas.
Hope this helps.
Aunt Bean

Sprouted Fava Bean Seeds

fava bean spouts, Rhodiola Rosea

I have made a new kitchen experiment that I am pleased with…but have found no one to test it for l-dopa content as yet….used the sprouted fava bean seeds. 

I am also experimenting right now with a new herb I had never heard of before. Having very good results and have cut way back on my need for the tincture. The name of the herb is Rhodiola rosea and it seems it has not yet been tried for PD. It is supposed to re-build dopamine. After two weeks on it  I noticed that I wasn’t taking the tincture as often and some days not at all….pretty cool.

Will report on in as I experiment longer and see if cutting back now on the herb…the effects still linger, etc.

Fingers Crossed.

Aunt Bean