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Pre-Natal Diet of Apples, Fish Protects Baby from Asthma |
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Written by Vanessa Bale
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Monday, 21 May 2007 |
Diet during pregnancy is an essential pointer in ensuring health of the unborn baby.
While specific dietary changes were not suggested, a new study says apples and fish play a significant role in protecting the baby from developing allergies including asthma in the future.
Increasingly researchers have linked faulty diet to asthma, but were unable to point to specific deficiencies. Asthma is a disease where the air carrying tubes in the lungs are blocked, thus leading to wheezing and difficulty in breathing. Asthma is caused by many allergens, irritants and is also heredity. Researchers believe consumption of food rich in sulfites such as died fruits also causes asthma.
There are about 20 million people suffering from asthma in the United States. Among them 9 million are children, according to the National Institutes of Health. Over in the UK, four million adults are believed to be suffering from asthma, while one million children are affected by the condition, according to the charity Asthma UK.
The present study says women who supplement their pregnancy diet with apples and fish may be able to save their children from developing asthma as well as several other allergies. The study by researchers from the Netherlands and the UK was presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference.
Last year one study by Cambridge researchers had noted that adults whose diets were deficient in manganese and vitamin C were at a greater risk of developing asthma. The present study focused on children and examined specific foods rather than nutrients.
Fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have been linked to developing a strong immunity. Apples contain abundant amount of flavonoids, which are again linked to helping the body develop strong immunity and consequently battle everyday allergies.
The study followed 1,212 children, whose mothers had responded to food questionnaires concerning their diet during pregnancy. After five years, the mothers again responded to questionnaires regarding their child's respiratory health. They also gave out details regarding the children's food habits.
Earlier studies on the same set of children had noted that pre-natal intake of vitamin E and D and zinc protected them from developing asthma and wheezing.
Co-researcher Saskia Willers, M.Sc. of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, said the new study was an extension of the earlier one in that it included specific foods rather than nutrients and their association with allergies and asthma.
The researchers said children of mothers with the highest intake of apples were less likely to have developed wheeze at the age of five as compared to children of mothers with the lowest apple consumption during pregnancy.
Furthermore children born to mothers who consumed fish at least once a week during pregnancy were also less likely to have had allergic conditions like eczema at the age of five than children of mothers who never ate fish during pregnancy.
Other healthy food items like vegetables, fruit juice, citrus or kiwi fruit, or whole grain products appeared to exert no protective effect against asthma and allergies, the researchers added. They added if the present results were confirmed in larger trials "recommendations on dietary modification during pregnancy may help to prevent childhood asthma and allergy."
The authors caution it is too early to ask pregnant women to increase their consumption of fish and apples. However following a healthy lifestyle and eating a balanced diet coupled with avoiding tobacco and alcohol will ensure they have healthy babies.
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