My journey with broad beans

My journey with broad beans started with how awful they can be until I started growing them myself.

My journey with broad beans ended with the discovery after fifty years of passionate avoidance how delicious the young legumes are; and how they solved the tremor in my right hand.

In many parts of the world they are known as fava beans.

My journey with broad beans did not have an auspicious start; fifteen years old, visiting friends with my parents I was forced to eat these old, dry and horrible legumes. Never again, swore I, a promise I kept for over fifty years. Neither I nor the hostess had any idea how good they can be when sprouted.

Then I was given a helping of unknown, young beans at a dinner party; they were very delicious. I asked for seconds!

Was my face red on discovering they were my pet hate? You bet.

Meantime aged forty I had developed a nasty, worrying tremor in my right hand; a neurologist declared that it could turn into Parkinson's Disease.

Severe constipation

Seeming unconnected despite having a mother who was a vegetarian, I suffered from early childhood from very severe constipation. I clearly remember many awful enemas. It was a complete mystery that in a family given over to eating so much fibrous food that I had a seriously compacted colon. Copious amounts of vegetables, fruit and nuts were daily fare on the dining room table but did little to help matters.

It was only many decades later that I discovered that severe constipation is one of the common symptoms of PD; could the disease actually start in childhood?

Leg cramps

Then there was the onset of cramps in the lower legs, particularly in the calf and foot. The big toe would spasm grotesquely very painfully upwards; and sometimes still does if I miss out on my daily medicine.

Growing broad beans

Completely unable to find broad beans in the grocery store after that dinner party I decided to start growing them. In the first season we discovered the importance of staking the plants; so heavy in fruit the fronds would fall over in a breeze and snap off.

• Broad bean tips
  

And that they have a very shallow rooting system; deep irrigation at least twice a week is essential in dry weather.

There were enticing little paths that led off in different directions; one was the importance of inoculating the seeds with rhizobia. That doubled the yield.

L-dopa

Most astonishing was that the tremor in my right hand was far less problematic during the season. Was it my imagination? Further reading led to the discovery that broad beans are the only source of pharmaceutical amounts of L-dopa, the precursor of the hormone that is deficient in PD.

• Fava beans nutrition
  

Freezing broad beans

In order to enjoy half a dozen beans twice a day I then had to learn to blanche and freeze them. Never skin them by the way; it seriously raises the glycemic index.

• Freezing broad beans
  

The science of broad beans

The discovery of how much these broad beans were contributing to my health led me to start asking many questions. What's in them that makes them so important? Are they a functional food? Do they really promote wellness and help prevent disease?

This became a hugely complex and fascinating subject leading down many avenues. What are the catacholamine hormones? Why do those suffering from Parkinson's Disease invariably also experience dreadful constipation? What is L-dopa and its Carbi cousin. What are their functions?

• The nutritional profile of broad beans
  

And thence into the microbiome and in what way the friendly flora in the gut produce at least half of the dopamine in the body; and how to make kefir and other probiotics.

That led into some of the controversies. Why are probiotics in supplements probably actually bad for us if taken daily? And least if seen as an alternative to making and enjoying a wide range of our own fermented foods regularly.

The protein in broad beans

The proteins in our bodies are made up uniquely of long chains of amino acids; as directed by our own DNA. Nine of them are classified as "essential;" we have to get them from our food.

Meat, dairy products and eggs all have this total complement of essential amino acids; omnivores need have no worries. But those who rely only on legumes for their protein, walk something of a tightrope; and have to balance their nuts, seeds and beans carefully.

Broad beans are the only legume that apparently has all nine essential amino acids.

Sprouting broad beans

Whilst poring over the literature I realised that scientists kept referring to the fact that sprouted broad beans have even more L-dopa, the phenolic compound that has so many important functions; and larger amounts of other beneficial substances like saponins, amino acids and flavonoids.

• Phytochemical foods
  

The next leg of my journey with broad beans will be learning how to sprout them; in due course I'll update this page on this important subject.

Parkinson's Disease

My journey with broad beans of course is connected at the hip to the worrying tremor in my right hand, the spasms in my feet and the awful constipation; the spectre of Parkinson's Disease, the fastest growing neurodegenerative condition on the planet. 

And the causes of the disease that shockingly lie close at hand; rotenone for example is one of the commonest poisons used in and around the house. Then there are the dry-cleaning fluids, the nitrites in processed meats and the solvents needed by painters. Avoid them all if you value your life.

Could I have been exposed to one of these toxic chemicals as a child, starting me on the journey of an insufficient supply of dopamine and its derivatives that all play such a vital role in human health?

And thence how the L-dopa in broad beans has actually been proven to give protection to mice against the disease^[2]; and presumably to humans as well though that is yet to be substantiated.

Greenhouse gases

Legumes are able to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere; this enables them to synthesise amino acids and enrich the soil for the next crop with the element.

Broad beans are the single most efficient legume able to fix nitrous oxide from the air^[1] and assist in keeping down the greenhouse gases associated with climate change.

Blue Zones

I am convinced that it is no coincidence that in the five Blue Zone countries where the people enjoy such long and zestful lives right into their nineties that they all grow and consume broad beans; unbeknown to their forebears the only source of the happy hormone.

• Blue Zone longevity
  

The happy hormone

Dopamine is often called the "happy hormone." As a practising Christian my life is full and my cup overflows; I do wonder how much of that joy comes from a fascination with the healthy food that the good Lord gave us to enjoy.

Can one be a joyful Believer eating a crappy diet? Does the regular consumption of broad beans contribute to our "happiness?" It would make for an interesting research project.

It is part of my understanding that "the Fall," as told happened in the Garden of Eden originated with food; the forbidden apple.

Forbidden food remains the downfall of so many. Religious people are not exempt if they partake in the fare from the Devil's Pantry.

My journey with broad beans

My journey with broad beans is the story of my struggle to restore lost health. They truly have brought happiness to my body.

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