Fava bean (broad bean)

Fava bean can be offered from about 6 months, once baby is ready for solids. But if G6PD deficiency runs in the family, ask a doctor first. The warning below explains why.

This legume has many names. It is fava or haba in the Americas, candou in Asia, and bakla, bagilla, or ful around the Mediterranean. The English name broad bean comes from how the seeds swell and widen as they ripen. The many names show how widely it is used in kitchens around the world.

Nutrition

Fava bean gives plant protein, healthy fats, fiber, and complex carbohydrate. It carries folate for the brain and nervous system, omega-3 fats for the blood, and zinc for immunity. Fava bean is rich in iron.

At 6 months, mash cooked fava beans. Baby can eat by hand or from a spoon you have loaded ahead. Cooked beans can also be split or squashed flat as finger food. Flattened beans in a suction bowl help scooping. A bit older, baby picks them up more easily with a pincer grasp.

At 9 months, keep flattening each bean to lower the choking risk. Once the pincer grasp develops, place the beans right on the tray.

At 12 months, if your child chews well and does not overstuff the mouth, whole cooked beans can be served. It is also a good time to introduce a fork. Pre-load the fork or spear a bean. If your child is not interested, do not worry. Fork skills usually settle after the second birthday.

Fava beans are small and round. They are firm when raw or undercooked. These traits raise the choking risk. Cook them well. At 6 months, mash or flatten them. At 9 months, keep flattening each bean. Stay with your child during meals.

Fava bean is not a common allergen. Allergy to it is rare but possible. A likelier problem is favism, the name given to G6PD deficiency. In affected people, fava beans can lead to grave problems: broken-down red blood cells, yellow skin, and even brain injury. Warning signs are pale skin, yellowing, dark urine, fever, tiredness, light-headedness, a foggy mind, and a racing pulse. Favism can appear at any age. Children, boys above all, are hit more often and sometimes harder.

If G6PD deficiency runs in the family, or your baby's family comes from Africa, the Mediterranean, South Asia or Southwest Asia, ask the doctor before serving fava. The condition affects 5 to 30% of people in these regions. In the United States it may affect about 10% of African American males. Breastfeeding mothers with similar roots, or with a G6PD baby, should take care too.

Give a small amount at the first serving. For the next 24 hours, look for signs of hemolytic anemia: fussiness, lethargy, dark urine, paleness, a sudden rise in temperature, shortness of breath, fast heartbeat, belly or lower back pain, or yellow eyes, mouth lining, or skin. If there are no signs within 24 hours, raise the amount slowly.