Stop compromising fava beans

Stop compromising fava beans by skinning them; it raises their glycemic index alarmingly. By removing much of the fibre turning them into an ultra-processed food.

Generally cooked beans are one of nature's gems providing protein, non-glycemic starch and plenty of roughage. Like all legumes they have a very low GI of 40 or less; official diabetes websites label them as "a great food choice for people living with abnormally raised blood sugar^[1]."

Cooked with a whole grain like tabbouleh which is made from wheat, favas make an incredibly healthy food for everyone whether you are pre-diabetic or not. The flavour is subtle and easily lost; most folk would use chili or tomato to give them more taste.

High GI fava beans

Then perhaps because you have heard rumours you start to browse other sites. Indeed you come across the Glycemic Index Guide and it tells you that mature fava seeds boiled with salt have a very high GI; around 80. How can that be, you ask? It's utterly confusing.

Favas are called broad beans in some countries by the way; a "rose by any other name would smell as sweet." That quote might test your knowledge of English literature. 

Whatever you call them, fava beans are one of the unique foods of nature but for a completely different reason; they contain a nutrient that may save those suffering from neurological diseases that give them tremors. Read on and I will explain. 

So can those suffering from raised blood glucose eat favas or should they absolutely refrain? That's nearly half of those enjoying typical grocery store food by the way; I personally was one until I came to terms with the damage that refined grains, processed beans and sugar were doing to my body and brain. I could not even remember my own cellphone number.

• Excessive sugar drives dementia and stroke
  

It's all about that "waxy sheath."

Ruining fava beans

I chose to highlight that quote above in red; removing that waxy sheath, often called skinning is an extremely bad practice. In fact it's positively dangerous for your pancreas.

Below you can see young favas cooked in their pods, boiled mature seeds in the centre and the skinned beans below; with the waxy sheaths discarded at the bottom.

These are the compromised fava beans that have been utterly ruined by the general practices of many chefs. They turn an extremely healthy food into one that would be the downfall of anyone struggling with raised blood glucose; a great many of us.

Interestingly the young pods have even more L-dopa than the beans.

Fibre

A great scientist Arthur C. Clarke once said, "Human judges can show mercy; but against the laws of nature, there is no appeal."

We need to get our minds around this. Fibre is that part of food which slows the release of starches from the stomach, lowers the glycemic index and gives the stool bulk. It makes our meals chewy so we eat more slowly and astonishingly that even provides us with protection against dementia.

• Chew your food thoroughly

Few things should scare us more than the fact that one in nine Americans have Alzheimer's Disease by the age of 65; and nearly fifty percent of adults are prediabetic or have the full-blown condition. Against nature there is no appeal; we extract the fibre from food at our great peril. It is there for a very good reason; it protects us against the chronic degenerative conditions that typify modern society.

Stop compromising fava beans and all the other fibrous foods; especially wheat flour. Only 5% of those enjoying typical grocery store meals are consuming the recommended daily allowance; bowel diseases abound, increasingly in young adults.

• 100 percent real flour
  

My journey with fava beans

My first experience of fava beans was as a teenager; so awful were they, I vowed never to eat them again, a promise I kept for over fifty years. Then I discovered completely by accident that young, freshly-harvested and cooked on the same day, they are extremely delicious. And then astonishingly that they controlled the very disconcerting tremor that troubled my right hand.

So began a journey with fava beans and the dopamine precursor they produce. Now we grow and freeze them in great quantities for a village home garden; 80 plants. I enjoy them several times a week throughout the year; daily in season.

The research on white mice, not yet confirmed on humans appears to be true; the tremor of some 3 decades has not progressed to Parkinson's Disease as predicted. The L-dopa in fava beans both prevents and treats the condition^[4].

• Eggs Parkinson's Disease
  

I remain in good health; but still need to eat the beans regularly to stop the irritating tremor. Otherwise I spill my soup.

• Of tremors and things
  

I was also diagnosed as prediabetic, eventually cutting back on all refined carbs and keeping sugar to no more than a few teaspoons a day. My HbA1c is now a perfectly normal 5.4% despite all the so-called "high GI" fava beans I consume.

I am convinced that with their waxy sheaths intact they did not contribute one iota to my previously raised blood glucose and in fact have helped to stabilise my current normal levels. In England they used to grow a lot of them but they are apparently no longer popular commercially; you have to plant them yourself.

Dopamine is also very important in the eye; there's interesting research that fava beans help prevent extremely serious wet macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in the elderly^[5].

Parkinson's Disease set to double

The incidence of PD is all set to double by 2050; 25 million cases. The known causes are not being faced and there is little interest in prevention by growing and consuming fava beans. The further we get from the land, the lack of will to take prevention seriously and the vain hope that the pharmaceutical industry will find an affordable solution are all facets of the pipe-dream.

It's the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease.

• Risk factors of Parkinson's Disease
  

Stop compromising fava beans

Stop compromising fava beans by skinning off the waxy sheath; or eating them when they are old and starchy. In fact my rule of thumb is the only way to enjoy them is on the day they have been harvested; and when they are still young. In most countries that means that you have to grow them yourself; exceptions may be China, Ethiopia and around the Mediterranean Sea.

• Broad bean tips
  

Dopamine is often called "the happy hormone."

• Blue Zone longevity
  

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