Know2eat

Fava beans

Vicia faba

What fava beans has been studied for

3 associations assessed — 1 with at least some human evidence behind it. Strongest first.

  • 1 Limited
  • 2 Insufficient
4 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About fava beans

A large flat bean of the ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern kitchen, eaten green and fresh in spring or, far more often, dried and stewed as ful medames. The USDA reference entry is for the mature dry seed, which roughly doubles to triples in weight when cooked.

Also known as Broad bean, Ful, Habas, Horse bean

Blood Sugar & Metabolic HealthHeart HealthBrain & Cognitive Health

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Limited

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Blood glucose response

Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health
Limited evidence

Some single-meal trials report a low glucose response to fava beans relative to refined starch, consistent with pulses generally. Longer trials measuring fasting glucose or HbA1c with fava beans specifically are scarce.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

1 source

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Blood lipid profile

Heart Health
Insufficient evidence

Evidence is limited. Fava beans are included in pooled analyses of pulse-feeding trials that report modest LDL reductions, but very few trials tested fava beans on their own.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Cognitive function

Brain & Cognitive Health
Insufficient evidence

The natural levodopa content has prompted interest in Parkinson disease, but the human research is a small number of short, uncontrolled studies with wildly variable dosing. There is not enough to support eating fava beans for any neurological purpose, and doing so alongside levodopa medication carries real risk.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

2 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Ask about Fava beans

Ask about Fava beans

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories341 kcal17%
Protein26.1 g52%
Total fat1.53 g2%
Carbohydrate58.3 g21%
Fibre25 g89%
Total sugars5.7 g—
Water11 g—
Fats
Saturated fat0.254 g1%
Monounsaturated fat0.303 g—
Polyunsaturated fat0.627 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
EPA (omega-3)0 g—
DHA (omega-3)0 g—
DPA (omega-3)0 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)0.581 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A3 µg0%
Vitamin C1.4 mg2%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Vitamin E0.05 mg0%
Vitamin K9 µg8%
Thiamin (B1)0.555 mg46%
Riboflavin (B2)0.333 mg26%
Niacin (B3)2.83 mg18%
Pantothenic acid (B5)0.976 mg20%
Vitamin B60.366 mg22%
Folate423 µg106%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Choline95.8 mg17%
Minerals
Calcium103 mg8%
Iron6.7 mg37%
Magnesium192 mg46%
Phosphorus421 mg34%
Potassium1062 mg23%
Sodium13 mg1%
Zinc3.14 mg29%
Copper0.824 mg92%
Manganese1.63 mg71%
Selenium8.2 µg15%
Other measured compounds
Beta-carotene32 µg—
Alpha-carotene0 µg—
Lycopene0 µg—
Lutein + zeaxanthin0 µg—
Caffeine0 mg—
Ash3.08 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Broadbeans (fava beans), mature seeds, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 175205).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • soakedReduces tannins and oligosaccharides

    Long soaking with the water discarded, and slipping off the thick seed coats, removes much of the tannin and part of the gas-forming oligosaccharide fraction. It does not remove vicine and convicine, so it does nothing for favism risk.

  • boiledReduces lectins and protease inhibitors

    Thorough boiling inactivates the lectin and trypsin-inhibitor fraction of the raw bean.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Avoid

    Favism in G6PD deficiency

    People with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency — an inherited enzyme defect carried by hundreds of millions of people, most commonly of Mediterranean, African, Middle Eastern and South-East Asian ancestry — can suffer acute haemolytic anaemia after eating fava beans. The reaction is caused by the bean glycosides vicine and convicine, it can begin within hours, and it can be severe enough to require transfusion, especially in children. Cooking does not make the bean safe. Anyone with known or suspected G6PD deficiency should avoid fava beans entirely, including inhaling the pollen in some reported cases.

  • Interaction

    Levodopa and MAO inhibitors

    Fava beans contain natural levodopa, concentrated in the young pods and sprouts. That can add unpredictably to prescribed levodopa in Parkinson disease, and combined with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor it has been reported to raise blood pressure sharply. Both situations warrant medical advice rather than experimentation.

  • Allergy

    Legume allergy and cross-reactivity

    Fava bean allergy is documented and can cross-react with other legumes, including lupin and peanut, in sensitised people.

  • Worth knowing

    FODMAPs and IBS

    Fava beans are high in fermentable oligosaccharides and are a common trigger of bloating and pain in irritable bowel syndrome.