Can fava bean cause allergic reaction?

Answer 1

I am surprised this question is left unanswered.Those people with the medical condition G6-PD deficiency may have a hemolytic reaction if they take fava beans. My mother was told this when my younger brother was born. The doctors only found out when they did tests on our sickly baby brother. It seems that 4 of our siblings had this condition, all 4 boys.Girls do not have this condition but they are carriers of this condition in their genes.So we got it from our mother. By hemolysis, its meant that your red blood cells break up and release the haemoglobin into the plasma, the other major component of blood.In other words, your red blood cells get destroyed.G6-PD actually stands for an enzyme, Glucose 6-Phosphate dehydrogenase, and its deficiency can trigger hemolysis if one takes certain drugs as well as things like fava beans. We were given the list of drugs, but everytime I visit the doctor, I would inform him or her of this condition so that they would avoid giving certain medicines derived from those drugs. I am not medically trained but I have kept myself well informed on this condition. In fact in my army days, they took a blood count before we did a blood donation exercise, and I was excused on account of having a low red blood cell count although I ended up being the best in physical training in my company, "Mike" company, Singapore Armed Forces, 1979.