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You wrote: > >There was a posting the other day about fava beans and dopamine. >I checked some of my seed catalogs and found that Johnny's >offers "Loreta" favas (which are said to be not an English >variety), and Stokes offers "Toto," "Broad Windsor Long Pod," >and "Aquadulce." I called both companies, and neither knew >whether theirs had any relation to the Vicia type mentioned on >this network. Someone at Johnny's did tell me that there had >recently been a lot of calls about favas because of "something >medical on the internet;" he told me that he'd referred someone >to a fava research center in, he believed, Washington state, but >he thought it didn't exist anymore, anyway. Rather than >starting my own research, I thought I'd ask if anyone has >already checked out the fava varieties I've mentioned. Another >question: do all favas have some dopamine, even if it's not as >much as in the Vicia type? > >As a last question, has anyone ever eaten or tried to grow favas? >I've never tried them; regardless of the dopamine, I'll plant >some in my garden if they taste good and they'll grow in Vermont. > >Charlie Barasch > > There has been indeed, some information reporting that fava beans (Vicia faba) contain L-DOPA (not Dopamine). A few studies from Singapore and elsewhere have suggested that eating fava beans *may* improve the symptoms of PD. If this is due to the L-DOPA, then it is no different than taking medication (and the amount of L-DOPA in fava beans varies). There are people, usually of Mediterranean ancestry, who lack an enzyme, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD); if they eat fava beans, they will develop a severe anemia (breaks down red cells) which can be fatal. There is a test to determine the presence of this enzyme (expensive), but unless one is sure that they are not lacking this enzyme, one should be careful about eating fava beans. The condition, called "Favism" is not all that rare. Best, Bob -- ******************************************************** Robert A. Fink, M. D., F.A.C.S. Phone: 510-849-2555 Neurological Surgery FAX: 510-849-2557 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, California 94704-2636 USA E-Mail: [log in to unmask] CompuServe: 72303,3442 America Online: BobFink "Ex Tristitia Virtus" ********************************************************