Fava beans provide nutrition for dopamine

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Was reading about fava beans and saw that they containe Levodopa (L-dopa) which is used by the body to create dopamine.

 

Dopamine fluctuation and imbalance has been linked to schizophrenia, it also plays a large part in attention and add/adhd, depression, and all psychological addictions are motivated by the drive to produce more dopamine.

 

Levodopa is provided in drug form to treat Parkinsons disease and the rare* diagnosis of dopamine deficiencey (*compared to its results..?).

An interesting thing about L-dopa is that it doesn't provide a dopamine kick upon taking it which might cause an addictive reaction, but just keeps the body ready to provide dopamine when dopamine release is stimulated.

 

 

Levodopa should not be taken by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding as levodopa is "distributed into breastmilk" (Something tells me it's usually in high-quantities..).

 

Anyway, so people might want to make sure they eat some fava beans once in a while. Sexy....

 

Oh yeah, they also contain vitamin B17 (as do lentils and mung beans).

 

Beware of immoderate consumption of fava beans however as there are some serious side effects (see half-way down the page) from allergies and overconsumption. Not the easiest beans to use anyways, but adding them to your pantry would probably be good for once in a while to make sure your body is not deprived.

 

Again, too much (not even sure what that depends on) Levodopa can cause worse problems than too little (save some clinical cases of deficiency), but occasional consumption in fava beans is normally safe as evidenced by the fact that roasted fava beans are a popular snack in some places, and fava beans are often used to make fallafel balls in the Middle East.

 

 

I don't see anything about actually treating depression or add/adhd with L-dopa, though treatments of these issues usually deal with regulating the flow of dopamine so I am really wondering if this is an undiscovered connection!?

 

If there is a useful connection there then I'm glad to let the cat out of the bag for free and hopefully fava beans won't be made illegal (see video about

, which is more easily accessible) having fewer side effects than probably 65% of prescriptions even when used improperly. Edited February 21, 2012 by Harmonious Emptiness

[JustARandomPanda]

Another good source for boosting the body's dopamine levels is Mucuna pruriens

 

Actually Witch's book The Orgasmic Diet is all about boosting dopamine levels, clearing out excess amounts of SHBG in the bloodstream, clearing out excess amounts of serotonin (which suppresses dopamine release), etc. It raises Jing very quickly.

 

As for helping people with severe depression there's loads of peer-reviewed double-blind studies showing fish oil is just as good as prescription drugs and sometimes better.

Edited February 21, 2012 by SereneBlue

[Dainin]

I've had this at a Middle Eastern restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale. It's really good, sort of a hummus or baba ghanouj-like dip:

 

Ful Medames

[Edward M]

Thanks for the info!! have any of you tried supplementing with L-Theanine?

 

Peace,

Ed

[JohnC]

Another good source for boosting the body's dopamine levels is Mucuna pruriens

 

Actually Witch's book The Orgasmic Diet is all about boosting dopamine levels, clearing out excess amounts of SHBG in the bloodstream, clearing out excess amounts of serotonin (which suppresses dopamine release), etc. It raises Jing very quickly.

 

As for helping people with severe depression there's loads of peer-reviewed double-blind studies showing fish oil is just as good as prescription drugs and sometimes better.

 

I'm going to check that book out. Sounds great actually.

[Dreamingawake]

I hear they're GREAT with liver and a nice chianti