Fava bean powder

I think fava bean powder helps to make my carbidopa/levodopa medication work better.

I first heard about what fava beans can do for Parkinson’s suffers in November 2016 from a Facebook post about “AtreMorine”.  The page was called “Live better Parkinson’s”.  The story was about a Spanish research team that found two major keys of the neuroprotection and natural increase of dopamine.  My interest was immediately piqued.   The research team found that a supplement called “AtreMorine” protects selectively dopaminergic neurons and significantly increases naturally the dopamine level in the organism and without any adverse effects.

I immediately began to research AtreMorine and found that is quite expensive.  One 75 gram bottle cost 97 €, plus 17 € shipping, from Netherlands.   AtreMorine is made from fava beans which are a natural form of L-dopa.

Knowing the fava bean was the central element, I tried to find fava beans or fava bean powder.   Luckily, my daughter found exactly what I was looking for from a company known as Nutricargo in New Jersey.   I was able to get a 1 pound bag for only $20.

I began taking the AtreMorine in December 2016 as an experiment.  The article said a dose was 5 to 10 grams which is one or two scoops of the spoon they provided.  The directions were to not take the fava bean powder with water or hot food.  I began mixing 10 grams, or two scoops, of fava bean power with a banana and pudding.  Within a couple weeks I began to feel better.  The persistent Parkinson’s ache was gone.  I felt better than I had in years.   I felt like the dyskinesia from too much carbidopa/levodopa was lessened and the medicine off times were shorter.  Fava bean powder, by the way, tastes awful.

On January 3, I visited with a neurologist at Hines VA Hospital in Chicago.  I told him I felt better than I had in years.  He could not explain it.

I wanted to find out exactly how much the fava bean powder was helping me, so, I decided to conduct an experiment.  I didn’t think I could go completely without medicine, so decide to reduce my intake.  I usually take a dose of carbidopa/levodopa every two hours.  I decided to take two scoops of fava bean powder, twice a day.  I would continue to take the extended release carbidopa/levodopa every six hours.

Well, the first day was great.   I felt like a new man.   But the second day was not good at all.  So, after about 48 hours of trying, I went back to my original dosing schedule.  After almost a week of taking my regular doses of medicine and the fava bean powder, I began to feel well again.  The result of my experiment was the fava bean powder help reduce dyskinesia, reduce “off” periods, and relieve the muscle ache caused by Parkinson’s.

Lessons learned:  I have never felt better when I was using the fava bean powder.  Continue regular medication regimen.   Some Parkinson’s medication cause constipation – fava bean powder makes it worse.