When can a baby eat beans?

Beans are nutrient-dense and contain fiber as well as many vitamins and minerals. Eating more beans can improve overall health and reduce the risk of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and certain types of cancer.

You may wonder if your child can benefit from eating beans. Find out when your child can start eating beans, how best to prepare them, and what precautions to take.

Introducing babies to beans

Breast milk is the best food for your baby in the first 6 months of his life. Even after your baby starts eating solid foods, milk or formula will still provide half or more of his nutritional needs during the first year of life. You will know that your baby is developmentally ready for solid foods when they are about 6 months old and they:

Can keep his head up
Show interest in your food
Can move food from a spoon to the back of the throat
Have doubled their birth weight or weigh about 6 kg

You should wait until your child is one year old to introduce certain foods like honey, but you don't have to wait to introduce beans. Beans may be one of the first foods you give your child.

There is no particular order in which you should introduce solid foods to your child. Once they're ready, you can start with single-ingredient foods like mashed beans. Just wait a few days before introducing a new food so your baby doesn't have a bad reaction.

Nutritional benefits of beans for babies

Beans are a good source of important micronutrients. These include potassium, magnesium, folic acid, iron and zinc. They are also a good source of protein and are rich in fiber.

In addition, legumes are one of the few plant foods that contain the essential amino acid lysine. It is necessary for your health, but your body cannot do it. You must get it from your diet.

Beans are also rich in fiber and antioxidants. They help protect your cells from free radical damage. Free radicals are formed when your body breaks down food or is exposed to radiation or tobacco smoke.

Studies have shown that children who eat more fiber generally have a better diet. They eat less fat and get more nutrients, including vitamin B-6, magnesium, iron, and potassium.

How to prepare beans for babies

One of the biggest fears many people have about beans is that they can give off gas. This is because beans contain a type of sugar that is difficult for the body to break down called an oligosaccharide.

You can greatly reduce the amount of oligosaccharides in beans by soaking them before cooking and then draining the soaking water. Rinse beans after soaking and boil them in freshly poured water. This should help reduce the gas that the beans can cause.

When giving beans to your child, choose dried beans over canned ones. Canned food tends to be high in salt and other preservatives. Dried beans have the added benefit of being cheaper. Do not add salt, sugar, or other spices to beans when you first offer them to your child.

For younger children, you can puree the beans until smooth. When your child is a little older, you can mash the beans with a fork to make them more lumpy.

Bean safety precautions for babies

Beans should be the staple of your child's healthy diet, but you must take some precautions to make sure they are safe for your child.

Food poisoning. To prevent illness due to improper handling and preparation, there are four steps in cooking beans:

Inspect: Check dried beans for foreign objects such as small stones or sticks.
Rinse: Rinse the beans thoroughly in cold water.
Soak: Add 5 cups of cold water for every cup of dried beans in a large saucepan. Bring water to a boil for 1-3 minutes. Cover and leave for 4 hours.
Preparation: Drain and rinse the soaked beans. Add new water and cook.

By following these steps, you will not only reduce gas-producing compounds in beans, but also reduce the amount of antinutrients. In beans, these include lectins and phytates. Antinutrients can block the absorption of some beneficial nutrients. They may also have certain benefits, so you shouldn't remove them completely.

Beans contain a type of lectin that can be toxic in large amounts. There are some extra precautions to take when cooking beans. Extend the soak time to 5 hours. Be sure to boil them for at least 30 minutes. Finally, don't use a slow cooker to cook beans.

Allergies. There is no evidence that waiting more than 6 months for the introduction of certain foods reduces the risk of developing allergies. However, if your child has severe eczema or is allergic to eggs, you should get them tested for peanut allergy. You and your pediatrician should discuss when is the best time to give your child peanuts.