As a plant biologist at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University, I am passionate about sustainable food security and resilience. I truly believe that we can have a better food system that promotes planetary health — a wholesome food system that considers both the environmental impact and the health impact on the consumers, including mental health.
Currently, I am developing a new plant biotechnology technique that accelerates the improvement of our food crops to make them climate-resilient and produce valuable compounds for health improvement — ultimately, making functional food more accessible to everyone, not just the privileged few. Considering the increasing mental health challenges globally and the lack of innovation in our food systems, I believe we must leverage the food we eat — particularly those we can grow locally — to buffer the waiting period for treatments or even prevent the onset of mental health issues. Most importantly, the people who are growing our food, the farmers, are increasingly affected by mental health issues due to extreme weather changes that affect crop production. Hence, the same food crop that can improve mental health should also be accessible to these growers for their own use.
One such food crop that fits the bill is the humble broad bean or fava bean. The broad bean, like most species in the bean family (Fabaceae), can fix nitrogen from the air with the help of symbiotic soil bacteria. This means that we can grow broad beans and enrich the soil without using nitrogen fertilisers, that can otherwise cause various adverse environmental effects. On the mental health side, broad beans contain uniquely high levels of L-DOPA, a precursor of dopamine, the “happy molecule”. L-DOPA is well known to be used in treatments of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, but not many people are aware that it was first isolated from broad beans around 1910-1913 due to its effects on Parkinson’s disease patients!
The broad bean has a long history of being traditionally grown in the UK since the Iron Age. These beans have also been dubbed “Celtic beans” by archaeologists due to their discovery in ancient archaeological sites across Britain. Despite being consumed for centuries, they are considered a neglected crop and not widely recognised for their functional food properties. Recent studies on how the dopaminergic pathway could alleviate depression bring new opportunities to bring broad beans, with their unique property of high L-DOPA, back into the food system as an accessible functional food for better mental health.
Of interest is a study from Emory University that showed L-DOPA administration to patients with depression displaying high levels of inflammation can improve one major symptom of depression: anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure). With the recent identification of six biological types of depression and anxiety, it is promising that L-DOPA could alleviate the symptoms of anhedonia. Therefore, foods with high L-DOPA such as broad beans provide an accessible functional food that can be consumed to improve mental health.
While broad beans themselves have not yet been clinically tested for alleviating anhedonia and depressive symptoms (thought we're currently seeking funding for this!), several clinical cases and studies have shown significant improvements in Parkinson’s patients due to the bean’s L-DOPA content. Additionally, L-DOPA treatment on mice also showed reduced Alzheimer’s symptoms and improved memory. However, L-DOPA levels can vary significantly among different bean varieties, hence the difficulty in determining the exact dosage required for effective treatment. Some varieties also contain vicine and convicine — compounds that can cause favism, a potentially fatal genetic condition affecting a small portion of the population (famously including Pythagoras).
Beyond L-DOPA, broad beans also contribute to better mental health through other mechanisms. As seen with other pulses (which refers to dried beans from legume crops), broad beans contain high amounts of fibers and high amounts of antioxidants that promote a healthy gut microbiome that affects the gut-brain axis, which is important for mental well-being. When fermented or germinated (as bean sprouts or microgreens), broad beans can also produce GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), another chemical that can promote relaxation and reduce anxiety.
Therefore, to raise awareness of the mental health benefits of broad beans, I have initiated a small campaign called “Broad’n Mind”. This initiative aims to provide resources and information about broad beans and how they can improve mental health, versatile recipes to incorporate these beans in delicious meals, and how we can improve these beans further for better nutritional value.
Broad bean or fava bean is only one of the many unique plants that can promote better mental health. Plant biotechnology should go beyond simply boosting crop yields — it should also focus on improving the nutritional quality of our food to support overall health, including mental health.
With a bit of creativity, we can develop crops that are both highly nutritious and climate-resilient. By harnessing the power of innovation, we can create accessible, functional foods that nourish the mind while advancing sustainable agriculture.