Broad beans as an antidepressant

[Chris]

Some interesting research being done on broad beans as they contain L-DOPA, which is a precursor to Dopamine which has been successfully used to treat certain types of depression.

I wonder how much of the rise in depression/anxiety in the population will turn out to be down to diet? (Not the only factor, I know)

Haven’t had broad beans since I was a kid, they seem far less common nowadays. Might have to grow some.

 

[bobnewboy]

I love ‘em, but my missus doesn’t. This year I’m growing around 15/16 plants for my own consumption. They are in good flower already so I’m hoping for a nice crop.

In my childhood my mum used to cook baked (rather than steamed) bacon pudding, served with mash, boiled broad beans and parsley sauce. It was and still is one of those meals that stands head and shoulders above a lot of fancy meals I’ve had in my life.

 

[John Fenna]

Neither I nor my wife like broad beans - and if she does not like any kind of food it does not appear on the menu anyway!
She does however treat me to/with St John's Wort pills - which work well for me....

 

[slowworm]

Home grown broad beans, harvested young so the beans don't have a hard covering, are lovely. I didn't like the tough old things I was served as a child but like the ones I've grown myself.

The added bonus is the plants produce a nice scent and are loved by bumble bees.

There's quite a few fields of broad beans (field beans) grown around here. I think many are harvested dried and exported.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I don't grow beans but I buy them fresh when in season or dried.

I usually cook them then use them cold in salads, often like the Greek "gigantes plaki" (though strictly speaking that recipe uses Phaseolus coccineus rather than Vicia faba).

Gigantes plaki - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Apparently most beans contain toxic phytohaemagglutinin which is destroyed by heat... I knew that red kidney beans were toxic when raw, but they're usually sold either in cans (so already cooked) or dried (even after soaking they would be too hard to eat).

But broad beans also contain it, and I've often eaten a few when shelling fresh ones.

 

[TeeDee]

https://www.realseeds.co.uk/broadbeanseed.html

 

[Nice65]

I've always got a bag of Tesco's baby broad beans in the freezer. As someone mentioned, excellent with bacon or gammon, parsley sauce and potatoes.

 

[Woody girl]

Broad beans are my favourite bean. I like then fresh from the garden, picked small, young tender and sweet, gently simmered or steamed served with fresh real butter melted over them, with a few twists of black pepper. Delicious.
I grow them myself as shop bought are left far too long before being harvested and are big and tough skinned.
If you do buy them, try taking off the skins and just eating the bean without the often bitter tough skin.
Makes a world of difference to them.

 

[TeeDee]

Maybe pointing out the obvious but simple walking is also going to boost Dopamine levels and no need to digest something that tastes like a H&S warning briefing.

Other benefits beside Dopamine and if you combine it with an app of your choice ( Anything from Headspace to an Audible book ) can keep the little grey cells tickled where they like to be tickled.

6 surprising health benefits of walking

Walking is an easy way to get active and boost your happiness. Here's 6 surprising health benefits of regularly walking.

www.bhf.org.uk

 

[TeeDee]

I wonder how much of the rise in depression/anxiety in the population will turn out to be down to diet? (Not the only factor, I know)

We were talking about this the other night and I think a real contributor to depression / anxiety is how over stimulated we are from inputs of different things.
Monitors , Phones , Social media updates and status "checks" , death by email and Teams meetings etc etc.

Try asking someone to switch off their phone for a weekend and see the resistance from a developed addiction. I do think in a few years we will need to have a regular digital detox and coping strategies implemented.

 

[TLM]

The good thing is that treatment is very apparent and easy to arrange.