Sorry can t remember which thread this was on but I think Gus said PWP s shouldn't t eat bananas as they soak up dopamine. I had understood that bananas contain dopamine and therefore we should include them regularly in our diet.
Am very confused and love bananas!
any other viewpoints?
bw Samdog
I wondered what the truth was so I googled "bananas and dopamine".
All seemed to say bananas increase dopamine and are good for PWP.
eg......
"Eat foods known to raise dopamine levels naturally. Bananas are regarded as an exceptional food for dopamine because they contain a chemical closely related to the brain chemical. Ripe bananas have even higher concentrations of this compound. Fresh fruits and vegetables tend to have high dopamine levels in general, as do whole grain foods and legumes."
So carry on enjoying them Samdog!
GG
Thanks GG think I will
samdog
Hi samdog and goldengirl,
bananas were talked about in the discussion about sinemet and also concerned me.
So thanks for this goldengirl. Also the talk about protein - I understand that it is wise to not eat protein, in particular milk, cheese, eggs for about 45 minutes either side of taking the sinemet plus. I was on that for over a year - and also read that taking iron too close can interfere with the meds. So I wake at 630 am and take my iron and other meds, then took the sinemet at 7.30. Then at 12.30 and 5.30pm.
I eat my banana after the iron tab.
Because the sinemetkept breaking I now take CoCareldopa 3 x daily.
best wishes
Aberwells
hi aberwell i was told by my pharmasist not to take iron within 2 hours of my meds as it reduces the effectiveness .
Great! Now I can go bananas.
Just invested in a nutribullet and have blended veg and fruit, first thing in morning and last thing at nite. Will keep you informed if there is any improvement to our probs.
I've been reading this from a lay-persons semi pragmatic viewpoint. From what I understand about Sinemet, the L-Dopa is used by the body to produce dopamine. Unlike the body's natural demand and supply process of dopamine production, L-Dopa get's converted even if it isn't required, leading to excess levels and shake side effects since it isn't stored effectively. A bit like drinking from a cup at a variable rate, the trick is to keep it topped up not overflowing or empty, both of which have consequences.
What the eck has this to do with Bananas then? Along with many of our meds, there is often a natural food source that provides the chemicals required. The trick is finding out how quickly and effectively that food converts into the chemical required. Then balancing what you get from food and what from meds is down to your experience.
Provided you can balance the timing, it seems Bananas could help you cope on less meds. You'll need to know what size of Banana and what affects its absorption rate so it's another complication, albeit 'natural'. And then there's all the other foods to try. Sometimes the meds seem the simplest option.
Kendo,I think there might be one small problem: it is not known how much and/or when the body produces dopamine and it cannot be tested like the glucose levels in the blood of a diabetic, where the amount of insuline needed can be much more accurately calculated of course. I do not know, but production is probably different throughout the day, from person to person and stress or pleasure could have an impact on this too.
Sometimes I go completely "off" for no reason at all and at other times I stay"on" for a long time and it is very difficult to pinpoint what was the cause, was it something I ate?
Kate
Agreed, the way the body produces Dopamine on demand is virtually impossible to replicate through pills or Bananas for that matter. When the activity of your Dopamine producing cells have reached the point where what you're thinking/doing/eating also affects the efficacy and timing of the artificial Dopamine, the days when the meds don't work come ever more readily. If only it was as simple as eat a Banana to 'reset' the body to an On state within a few minutes.
Personally, I find 15 minutes of mild/moderate stretching exercises is what I need to counter the Off state.
