Have Parkinson’s? Eat Fava Beans
If you have Parkinson’s, the cells in your brain that make dopamine have been damaged or destroyed. And as dopamine levels decline, the simplest movements become increasingly more difficult.
The good news is that there is a natural way to boost your dopamine: Eat fava beans.
A recent study conducted at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago found that Parkinson’s patients who ate large quantities of fava beans (10 ounces a day!) got the same benefits as they did when taking medication. That’s because fava beans contain levodopa – the same active component in medications like Sinemet, Madopar, Dopar, and Larodopa.
You don’t have to eat a bushel of favas to get the benefits. Three ounces (canned and drained) contains between 50 and 100 mg of levodopa. One note of caution: These healthful legumes can create problems for people who have a rare genetic defect. So check with your doctor before you load up.
[Ed. Note: Long before pharamaceutical companies started trying to make a buck, Mother Nature was serving up her own medications. Fava beans are just one type of food that can help you feel better. ]Kelley Herring
Kelley Herring is the Founder & CEO of Healing Gourmet – a multimedia company that educates on how foods promote health and protect against disease. As a young adult, Kelley battled a debilitating health condition that went misdiagnosed by multiple doctors for more than a year. Finding no help from “modern medicine”, she turned to her own knowledge of biochemistry and her passion for health research. She soon learned that her symptoms were related to nutrition and within weeks, she charted a course back to health with nothing more than simple lifestyle changes and the power of the plate. The lessons she learned spawned the creation of Healing Gourmet. Kelley is a firm believer in vigorous exercise, moderate sun exposure and delicious, healthy, home-cooked meals. She is also the creator of Healing Gourmet’s Personalized Nutrition Software and Editor-in-Chief of the Healing Gourmet book series published by McGraw-Hill including Eat to Fight Cancer, Eat to Beat Diabetes, Eat to Lower Cholesterol and Eat to Boost Fertility.