Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: asthma diet + childhood asthma + asthma  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/5/2008)

Nut products increase risk of childhood asthma: study Canada.com, Canada - Jul 16, 2008 Pregnant women who eat a peanut butter sandwich a day could significantly increase their child's risk of developing asthma, a new study shows. ... Mom's nutty diet ups child asthma risk PRESS TV Eating nuts in pregnancy could increase asthma risk Telegraph.co.uk Nut products and asthma NHS Choices BBC News - Reuters UK all 96 news articles » Consumption of Nuts During Pregnancy Increases Risk of Childhood ... Medi News Direct, India - Jul 28, 2008 Compared to all other investigated food groups, a consistent association between the development of asthma and maternal diet was observed only with the ... Advice from a breast-feeding pro San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - It can protect children later in life against asthma, obesity, and child cancers such as lymphoma. Any advice for moms with conditions such as sore nipples, ... Parents go green for children Irish Times, Ireland - Consider chucking them all out, in the knowledge that the increase in childhood allergies and asthma has been partly attributed to over-clean homes. ... No nuts during pregnancy Times of India, India - Jul 23, 2008 "The only consistent association between the maternal intake of the investigated food groups during pregnancy and childhood asthma symptoms until eight ... Can eating nuts in pregnancy lead to childhood asthma? Healthcare Republic - Jul 23, 2008 Expectant mothers who consume nuts or nut products every day could increase their child's risk of developing asthma by over 50 per cent, according to media ... Los Angeles Times Eating Nuts While Pregnant May Raise Risk Of Asthma For Child Evening Bulletin, PA - Jul 18, 2008 It showed that children whose mothers had previous history of asthma or sensitivity were on a restricted diet and also reported suffering from the condition ... CBS Asthma linked to nutty diets Globe and Mail all 5 news articles » The Age Childhood allergies on the rise The Age, Australia - Jul 26, 2008 Associate professor Jo Douglass, head of The Alfred's allergy and asthma service and a researcher at Monash University, said the trend was entrenched. ... Malaysia Star Have fewer sick days! Malaysia Star, Malaysia - Aug 2, 2008 ... or as far away as possible from your child as passive smoking contributes to lung cancer and other respiratory diseases, including asthma in children. ... Eating Nuts During Pregnancy Increases Child?s Asthma Risk Ivanhoe, FL - Jul 16, 2008 ?The only consistent association between the maternal intake of the investigated food groups during pregnancy and childhood asthma symptoms until eight ...

Is diet the answer to childhood asthma?

 Asthma is one of the most common health complaints in children, with one in five now suffering from the condition - roughly twice the number affected just ten years ago.

Research published in The Lancet this month suggests that not only asthma but wheezing in general is becoming increasingly common. Although the authors of the study seem at a loss to explain the explosion in asthma and wheezing rates, just last week a potential explanation came from researchers in Finland.

A study published in the medical journal Allergy found that childhood allergic conditions seem to be linked to the consumption of fat. It seems that eating more fats of the type found in margarine, and less from sources such as butter and oily fish, increases the risk of asthma.

Could the rise in asthma rates be caused by changes in diet? Within the lungs are tubes known as bronchi and bronchioles, which allow air to be passed in and out of the lungs, so oxygen can be absorbed from the atmosphere and carbon dioxide, a waste product, can be eliminated.

The bronchi and bronchioles are lined with muscle which may become constricted, impeding the flow of air. Asthma is a condition characterised by constriction of the airways, and often manifests as episodes of breath-lessness and wheezing.

Conventional medical treat-ment for asthma is based around drugs, called bronchodilators, which help open up the airways, and steroids. Steroids help dampen the immune response responsible for inflammation and constriction of the lung tissue.

Around 10 per cent of asthma sufferers are sensitive to substances they breathe in. They may be helped by avoiding chlorine in swimming pools, feather bed-ding and long-haired animals, such as cats.

But in about 70 per cent of cases certain foodstuffs may promote inflammation in the body, which can then perhaps contribute to asthma and other allergic conditions (such as eczema).

Some of the foods which may do this are the omega-6 fatty acids, generally found in quantity in margarine and vegetable oils. On the other hand, fats of the omega-3 type, such as those found in oily fish, appear to have the ability to reduce inflammation in the body.

Back in 1994, researchers put forward the idea that an increased consumption of omega-6 fats, coupled with a decreased consumption of omega-3 fats, might increase the risk of asthma.

A study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal Of Medicine found that in Australia increased rates of asthma coincided with a fivefold increase in the consumption of polyunsaturated fats, particularly of the omega-6 type.

This research also noted the increased consumption of these fats in New Zealand, the U.S. and Britain - all places where asthma rates are rising significantly. In contrast, countries where the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids is high and omega-6 fats low, such as Mediterranean and Scan-dinavian nations, have low rates of asthma.

Research published in 1996 also showed that asthma symptoms appeared to be better controlled in children who consumed oily fish. To sum up, avoiding margarine and vegetable oils in a child's diet, and including some butter, plus oily fish such as salmon, trout, tuna, mackerel and herring, might help control asthma symptoms in time.

You need to be realistic, so try limiting children's intake of fast and processed foods to three times a week. Another factor which appears to be of significance is food sensitivity. Studies have shown it is possible for asthma symptoms to be triggered by the consumption of specific foodstuffs, and food sensitivity is thought to account for two-thirds of cases of childhood asthma.

In clinical practice, it is often found that wheat and dairy products tend to worsen asthma symptoms in children, so a trial of a diet which excludes these foods is often worthwhile. Good alternatives include rice milk, oatcakes and oat and corn-based breakfast cereals.

Many health food stores offer a form of testing (Vega testing) which is relatively economical, and can sometimes help to pinpoint problem foods. Once problem foods are excluded, improvements are usually seen in one to four weeks.