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The cultivation of fava beans is so old that there is no known
wild form of this bean. It has been used in Chinese cooking for at least 5,000
years.
The fava bean, also known as faba bean, horse bean and broad bean,
was the only bean known in Europe until the discovery of the New World.
Scientists have discovered that fresh fava beans helps to fight Parkinson's disease.
Excellent source of folate and a good source of fiber.
Easy Sprouting and Cooking
Sprout and remove tough skin before cooking. Bring to a boil, then simmer for
40 minutes.
Best Uses
Lovely in soups and salads. Puree for tasty dips.
Fava Bean Sprouts contain ten times more L-Dopa than un-sprouted beans. These
beans have an age old reputation as a aphrodisiac.
Fava Beans are a natural source of Levodopa - prolongs "On" Periods
in patients with Parkinson Disease.
Fava Beans (Vicia faba)
Faba beans probably originated in the Near East in late Neolithic times. By the
Bronze Age they had spread at least to Northern Italy and have been found in several
lakeside dwellings in Switzerland. The earliest findings in Britain date back
to the Iron Age at Glastonbury. They were widely cultivated in ancient Egypt,
Greece and Rome.
In ancient Egypt they were mostly eaten by the common people.
The upper classes considered them unworthy and, unlike lentils, they have not
been found in the tombs or depicted on frescoes.
Faba beans are mentioned several times in ancient Greek Literature,
e.g., the Iliad by Homer written in the 8th to 9th century talks of faba beans.
The Greeks apparently associated the little black spot on the hilum with death
and although the beans were sometimes offered in sacrifices to Apollo, the priests
were strictly forbidden to eat or even to mention its name.
Pythagoras (a Greek philosopher in the 6th century B.C) refused
to walk through fields of faba beans and forbade his disciples to eat them. He
is said to have met his death at the hands of the people of Crotonia in Ancient
Bratium (Italy). Pursued by them, he came to the edge of a bean field and, rather
than set foot in it, was caught and killed. It is probable that he was prone to
favism - a disease which is almost entirely confined to genetically susceptible
people of Mediterranean origin. Favism occurs when such individuals consume faba
beans or inhale the pollen.
Unlike the Egyptians and Greeks, the Romans held the faba bean
in much higher esteem. The Elder Pliny in 'Naturalist Historiae' gives faba beans
the highest place of honor among legumes. He speaks of 'Lomentum' (bean meal)
as being mixed with wheat or millet flour in the baking of bread to make the loaves
heavier. It is probable that the Latin word for bread ('panis'; Italian 'pane'
or French 'pain') comes from the Greek word for faba bean, 'puanos'.
All the prominent writers on Roman agriculture mention faba beans,
e.g., Cato the Censor, Columella and Varro.
Apicius in the 1st century A.D. in his book 'De Re Conquinaria'
(the world's oldest surviving cookbook) mentions a number of dishes made from
faba bean - shelled and in the pod, boiled and fried. He gives the recipe for
a special purée of bean meal mixed with fish stock (Liquamen), oil and
herbs (especially cumin and coriander).
Romans also used faba beans in sacrifices to the goddess Carna.
In the Middle Ages faba beans were consumed throughout Europe
and they were the only beans known to Europeans before the discovery of America
in 1492.
Faba beans are mentioned in several old herbals, for example Gerard
in the 16th century. Nicholas Culpeper, the 17th century astrologer/physician,
stated that "They are plants of Venus and the distilled water of the flower
of garden beans is good to clean the face and skin from spots and wrinkles ...
Flour of beans and fenugreek mixed with honey, and applied to felons, biles, bruises,
or blue marks by blows, or the imposthumes in the kernels of the ears, helpeth
them all, and with rose leaves, frankincense, and the white of an egg, being applied
to the eyes, helpeth them that are swollen or do water, or have received any blows
upon them, if used in wine".
It has often been mentioned in folk-lore. The bean in the fairy
tale "Jack and the Beanstalk" may well have been a faba bean. In the
fairy tale". The straw, the coal and the bean" by the Brothers Grimm
we learn how the bean got her black stripe. She laughed so hard at the antics
of the burning coal and straw as they fell into the river that she split her sides
laughing. A tailor was passing and sewed her up but ever since then the bean has
had a black stripe because the tailor used black thread for the stitching.
There is also an ancient custom of including a whole bean in a special cake baked
especially on Twelfth Night (see recipe). The person who receives the piece with
the bean in it is proclaimed king for the night.
Faba beans are now cultivated in many temperate regions of the
world and at higher elevations in some subtropical areas. They are now popular
in many countries of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia
and in certain Far Eastern countries, especially China, which now grows almost
two-thirds of the world's production of the crop. In Italy there is a 'fava' (faba)
season in the spring - people out walking, pick them wild and eat a few raw. They
were probably introduced into the New World by the Spanish but have never found
great popularity there except in certain Andean countries of Latin America.
Faba bean seeds are very variable in shape and size from stongly
compressed to nearly globular. They can be white, green, yellow, buff, brown,
purple, black or mottled. The most common for human consumption are buff or brown.
Their botanical name is Vicia faba but they can also be sold as Windsor beans,
broadbeans, horse beans, field beans, tick beans, faba beans or pigeon beans.
They are available in a number of forms:
- fresh in pod
- frozen, shelled
faba beans
- dried large-seeded
faba beans*
- small-seeded
faba beans* - the
- Egyptian 'ful
mdamas'
- tinned 'ful mdamas'
and green faba beans
* Both types of dried faba beans can also be sold whole or skinned
and split (decorticated)
Nutrition
The dried faba bean contains about 25% protein. The bulk of the
seed is made up of carbohydrates (about 50%) and it has less than 2% oil. It also
contains calcium and iron. Fresh faba beans are good dietary source of protein
and in addition contain the vitamins riboflavin and vitamin C.
Storage
Dried faba beans can be kept almost indefinitely. Frozen (see
method), they can be stored for about 1 year. Tinned faba bean last well for up
to 5 years as do bottled faba beans (see method). Once podded, fresh faba beans
can be stored, covered, for 1-2 days in the fridge.
Basic Preparation
Very young beans are small and tender. Such delicate pods can
be cooked and eaten in the pods like a mange tout pea. More mature beans are shelled
before cooking. A black line on the bean is a sign of age and toughness and it
is better skinned before serving.
To cook fresh faba beans, put them in a little boiling salted
water with a little parsley or winter savory, cook until tender: about 8 minutes
when young but longer when older. Serve with melted butter and parsley, white
sauce, cream, parsley or onion sauce (see recipes). Allow ½
- ¾ lb (200-300 g) per person.
Dried faba beans should be soaked overnight in four times as much
cold water as beans. The cooking time depends on the locality in which they were
grown and their age. Small faba beans should be tender after boiling in water
for 20-30 minutes; large beans take about 10 minutes longer.
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 Scientific
Name: Vicia faba
| Nutrient |
Units |
Value per
100 grams of
edible portion |
Sample
Count |
Std.
Error |
| Proximates |
|
|
|
|
| Water |
g |
10.98 |
100 |
|
| Energy |
kcal |
341 |
0 |
|
| Energy |
kj |
1427 |
0 |
|
| Protein |
g |
26.12 |
104 |
|
| Total lipid (fat) |
g |
1.53 |
101 |
0.113 |
| Ash |
g |
3.08 |
102 |
|
| Carbohydrate, by difference |
g |
58.30 |
0 |
|
| Fiber, total dietary |
g |
25.0 |
0 |
|
| Minerals |
|
|
|
|
| Calcium, Ca |
mg |
103 |
31 |
|
| Iron, Fe |
mg |
6.70 |
30 |
|
| Magnesium, Mg |
mg |
192 |
10 |
|
| Phosphorus, P |
mg |
421 |
29 |
|
| Potassium, K |
mg |
1062 |
8 |
61.434 |
| Sodium, Na |
mg |
13 |
5 |
|
| Zinc, Zn |
mg |
3.14 |
10 |
|
| Copper, Cu |
mg |
0.824 |
10 |
|
| Manganese, Mn |
mg |
1.626 |
8 |
0.148 |
| Selenium, Se |
mcg |
8.2 |
0 |
|
| Vitamins |
|
|
|
|
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid |
mg |
1.4 |
1 |
|
| Thiamin |
mg |
0.555 |
11 |
|
| Riboflavin |
mg |
0.333 |
12 |
|
| Niacin |
mg |
2.832 |
11 |
|
| Pantothenic acid |
mg |
0.976 |
8 |
0.070 |
| Vitamin B-6 |
mg |
0.366 |
8 |
0.010 |
| Folate, total |
mcg |
423 |
8 |
33.794 |
| Folic acid |
mcg |
0 |
0 |
|
| Folate, food |
mcg |
423 |
8 |
33.794 |
| Folate, DFE |
mcg_DFE |
423 |
0 |
|
| Vitamin B-12 |
mcg |
0.00 |
0 |
|
| Vitamin A, IU |
IU |
53 |
9 |
|
| Retinol |
mcg |
0 |
0 |
|
| Vitamin A, RAE |
mcg_RAE |
3 |
9 |
0.000 |
| Vitamin E |
mg_ATE |
0.090 |
0 |
|
| Lipids |
|
|
|
|
| Fatty acids, total saturated |
g |
0.254 |
0 |
|
| 4:0 |
g |
0.000 |
0 |
|
| 6:0 |
g |
0.000 |
0 |
|
| 8:0 |
g |
0.000 |
0 |
|
| 10:0 |
g |
0.000 |
0 |
|
| 12:0 |
g |
0.004 |
0 |
|
| 14:0 |
g |
0.002 |
0 |
|
| 16:0 |
g |
0.204 |
0 |
|
| 18:0 |
g |
0.031 |
0 |
|
| Fatty acids, total monounsaturated |
g |
0.303 |
0 |
|
| 16:1 undifferentiated |
g |
0.002 |
0 |
|
| 18:1 undifferentiated |
g |
0.297 |
0 |
|
| 20:1 |
g |
0.000 |
0 |
|
| 22:1 undifferentiated |
g |
0.000 |
0 |
|
| Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated |
g |
0.627 |
0 |
|
| 18:2 undifferentiated |
g |
0.581 |
0 |
|
| 18:3 undifferentiated |
g |
0.046 |
0 |
|
| 18:4 |
g |
0.000 |
0 |
|
| 20:4 undifferentiated |
g |
0.000 |
0 |
|
| 20:5 n-3 |
g |
0.000 |
0 |
|
| 22:5 n-3 |
g |
0.000 |
0 |
|
| 22:6 n-3 |
g |
0.000 |
0 |
|
| Cholesterol |
mg |
0 |
0 |
|
| Phytosterols |
mg |
124 |
0 |
|
| Amino acids |
|
|
|
|
| Tryptophan |
g |
0.247 |
32 |
|
| Threonine |
g |
0.928 |
63 |
|
| Isoleucine |
g |
1.053 |
63 |
|
| Leucine |
g |
1.964 |
63 |
|
| Lysine |
g |
1.671 |
66 |
|
| Methionine |
g |
0.213 |
176 |
|
| Cystine |
g |
0.334 |
146 |
|
| Phenylalanine |
g |
1.103 |
63 |
|
| Tyrosine |
g |
0.827 |
60 |
|
| Valine |
g |
1.161 |
63 |
|
| Arginine |
g |
2.411 |
64 |
|
| Histidine |
g |
0.664 |
62 |
|
| Alanine |
g |
1.070 |
54 |
|
| Aspartic acid |
g |
2.916 |
54 |
|
| Glutamic acid |
g |
4.437 |
54 |
|
| Glycine |
g |
1.095 |
61 |
|
| Proline |
g |
1.099 |
48 |
|
| Serine |
g |
1.195 |
54 |
|
USDA National Nutrient
Database for Standard Reference, Release
15 (August 2002)
Fava Beans,
Levodopa, and Parkinson's Disease
by Kathrynne Holden,
MS, RD
Ms. Holden is a registered
dietitian specializing in Parkinson's disease.
She has published research, books, articles,
and manuals on nutrition and PD, including
"Eat well, stay well with PD."
For more information you may call (USA)
877-565-2665, or 970-224-5066; or visit
her website: http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/
Beans and Parkinson's
disease
In the past few years,
I've been increasingly asked for information
about fava beans as a source of levodopa.
It's clear that many people are trying fava
beans without fully understanding their
properties. This article is designed to
answer questions that have arisen about
fava and Parkinson's disease (PD). I hope
this may clear up some of the confusion
about the bean, and encourage people to
discuss its use with their doctors and dietitians.
This bean is a legume called "fava"
(fah-vuh), faba, broad bean, and horse bean.
Its botanical name is "Vicia faba."
There are many species of faba; however,
the "faba major"is the bean of
concern here. It grows in a long pod, like
a giant green bean, with large, flat seeds
inside. It has been eaten for thousands
of years throughout the world, especially
in the Mediterranean region.
How are fava
beans related to PD?
Fava beans contain levodopa,
the same chemical in Sinemet, Madopar, Dopar,
Larodopa, and other levodopa-containing
medicines used to treat PD. In fact, the
entire fava plant, including leaves, stems,
pods, and immature beans, contains levodopa.
The amount of levodopa
can vary greatly, depending on the species
of fava, the area where it's grown, soil
conditions, rainfall, and other factors.
It appears that the young pod and the immature
(green) beans inside the pod contain the
greatest amount of levodopa, and the mature,
or dried bean, the least. Three ounces (about
84 grams or ½ cup) of fresh green
fava beans, or three ounces of canned green
fava beans, drained, may contain about 50-100
mg of levodopa. If using the young pod as
well as the beans, the amount of levodopa
may be greater than that in the fresh beans
alone.
What effect
do fava beans have on PD?
Some small studies have
shown that the levodopa in fava beans can
help control the symptoms of PD, just as
medications containing levodopa do. In fact,
a few people report that the effects from
fava last longer than the effects from medications.
Some researchers believe fava beans may
contain other substances besides levodopa
that could be helpful.
However, although some
people report good effects, others find
no antiparkinson effect from fava beans
at all; and still others report adverse
effects, such as nausea and dyskinesia.
Much more research needs to be done to determine
how effective fava beans may be.
Are there any problems
associated with eating fava beans?
Yes, there a number of concerns to be aware
of:
Variable levodopa amounts. Because fava
plants have varying amounts of levodopa,
it's possible to get either too much or
too little levodopa. Too little levodopa
will not relieve PD symptoms; and too much
levodopa can cause overmedication effects,
such as dyskinesia - particularly if other
PD medications are being used at the same
time. Also, the levodopa can cause nausea
in some people.
Allergies. Raw fava beans can produce an
allergic reaction in some people, including
discomfort, and occasionally, coma. Cooking
may prevent allergic reactions.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitor
(MAOI) use. Another consideration is the
use of fava for people who take MAOIs. These
include: isocarboxazid (Marplan); phenelzine
(Nardil); tranylcypromine (Parnate); and
selegiline (deprenyl, Carbex, Eldepryl).
MAOIs taken in combination
with pressor agents (foods high in dopamine,
tyramine and phenylethylamine), can bring
about a dangerous, and sometimes fatal,
increase in blood pressure. Levodopa in
medications or in fava can convert to dopamine
in the bloodstream. It should be noted that
selegiline is a different type of MAOI (MAOI-type
B), and in the amount normally used by people
with PD (10 mg daily), it is not thought
to pose a risk when used with dopamine.
However, people using any MAOI should discuss
foods containing pressor agents with their
physicians and dietitians.
Favism (G6PD deficiency).
Favism is an inherited disease in which
a person lacks an enzyme called glucose-6-phosphate
dehydrogenase (G6PD). When these people
eat fava beans, they develop a condition
called hemolytic anemia. This anemia causes
red blood cells to break apart and block
blood vessels. When such blockage occurs
in the kidneys, it can result in kidney
failure and even death. Although favism
is usually detected in childhood, adults
can be affected as well.
G6PD deficiency is rare,
occurring mostly among people of Mediterranean,
African, and Southeast Asian descent, but
others can be affected as well. Your physician
can perform a blood test for G6PD to determine
whether you are at risk. If you find you
have inherited G6PD deficiency, your dietitian
can help you locate other foods that may
be of concern, and can help you plan safe
and healthful menus.
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