Beans are nutrient-rich and provide fiber as well as a variety of vitamins and minerals. Eating more beans can improve your overall health and reduce your chance of developing diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and certain types of cancers.
You may be wondering if your baby can benefit from eating beans as well. Learn when your baby can start eating beans, the best way to prepare them, and what safety precautions you should take.
Introducing Babies to Beans
Breast milk is the best food for your baby for their first 6 months. Even after your baby starts eating solid foods, milk or formula will still provide half or more of their nutritional needs for their first year. You'll know your baby is developmentally ready for solids when they are around 6 months old and they:
- Can hold their head up
- Express interest in your food
- Can move food from a spoon to the back of their throat
- Have doubled their birth weight or weigh around 13 pounds
You should wait until your baby is older than 1 year to introduce some foods, such as honey, but there's no need to wait to introduce beans. Beans can be among the first foods you introduce to your baby.
There is no particular order you need to use to introduce solids to your baby. When they are ready, you can start with single-ingredient foods, such as pureed beans. Just make sure you wait a few days before introducing another food so that 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, folate, iron, and zinc. They are also a good source of protein and are high in fiber.
Additionally, beans are one of the only plant foods that provide the essential amino acid lysine. This is necessary for your health, but your body can't make it. You have to get it from your diet.
Beans are also high in fiber and antioxidants. These help to protect your cells against damage from free radicals. Free radicals are produced when your body breaks down food or is exposed to radiation or tobacco smoke.
Studies have shown that children who eat more fiber have higher-quality diets overall. 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 concerns many people have with beans is that they can produce gassiness. This is because beans contain a type of sugar that is difficult for the body to break down, called oligosaccharide.
You can significantly reduce the amount of oligosaccharide in your beans by soaking them before cooking and then discarding the soaking water. Rinse the beans after soaking and cook them in newly poured water. This should help reduce any gassiness that the beans may cause.
When giving your baby beans, choose dried beans instead of canned. Canned foods tend to be high in salt and contain other preservatives. Dried beans have the added benefit of being cheaper. Don't add any salt, sugar, or other spices to the beans when you first offer them to your baby.
For younger babies, you can puree beans until they are smooth. Once your baby is a little older, you can mash beans with a fork for a slightly lumpier texture.
Beans Safety Precautions for Babies
Beans should be a staple in your baby's healthy diet, but you should take some precautions to make sure they are safe for them to eat.
Foodborne illnesses. To avoid illness from improper handling and cooking, there are four steps for cooking beans:
- Inspect: Check the dry beans for any foreign materials, such as small rocks or sticks.
- Rinse: Rinse the beans thoroughly in cold water.
- Soak: Add 5 cups of cold water for each 1 cup of dried beans in a large pot. Bring the water to a boil for 1 to 3 minutes. Cover and let soak for 4 hours.
- Cook: Drain and rinse the soaked beans. Add new water and cook.
Following these steps, you'll not only cut down on the gas-producing compounds in beans, but you'll also cut down on antinutrients. In beans, these include lectins and phytates. Antinutrients can block the absorption of some good nutrients. They may also have some benefits, so you don't want to cut them out entirely.
Red kidney beans contain a type of lectin that can be toxic at high levels. When cooking kidney beans, you should take some additional precautions. Increase the soaking time to 5 hours. Make sure you boil them for at least 30 minutes. Finally, don't use a slow cooker to cook kidney beans.
Allergies. There is no evidence that waiting to introduce certain foods beyond 6 months of age reduces the chance of developing an allergy. However, if your baby has severe eczema or an egg allergy, you should have them tested for peanut allergies. You and your pediatrician should discuss the best time to introduce peanuts to your baby.
