Posted by don_bristol on July 27, 2003, at 17:15:37
In reply to Re: MAOI: what are fava beans? FOUND THE ANSWER!, posted by maxime on July 27, 2003, at 15:46:54
> Fava beans contain levodopa, the same chemical
> in Sinemet, Madopar, Dopar, Larodopa, and other
> levodopa-containing medicines used to treat Parkinsons
> disease (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,Maxime, the thing I can't believe is that this one variety of bean contains high levels of levodopa and all the other varieties do not contains high levels. Surely the world of plants isn't like that? I would guess that another similar variety might contain quite a lot of levodopa.
-- snip --
> 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.
Isn't the phenylethylamine, which you mention, a common sweetener used in low-sugar fizzy drinks? Or am I getting this mixed up with something else. The important thing to ask you or anyone else here is do I need to avoid any foods in order to avoid phenylethylamine?
poster:don_bristol
thread:245574
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030723/msgs/245912.html