The study involving 13,000 children analyzed how different foods can affect the risk of developing asthma and hay fever.

The parents kept track of their children’s diet right from the birth. Simultaneously, researchers observed the health condition of children during five years. They estimated that the incidence of respiratory diseases in children who were fed with oatmeal during their first several months of life was reduced by 64 percent. The same research group discovered that, compared to other children, the incidence of hay fever was significantly lower among children who’ve had fish in their diet since early age.

However, these findings disagree with the guidelines of the Health Department. It is currently accepted that solid food diet should be preceded by a minimum of six months of breastfeeding.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/mwookie.

The study that appeared in the American Journal of Epidemiology states that late pregnancy intake of supplemental folic acid may expose your child to the danger of developing asthma later in life.

There is a tendency to advise expectant mothers to take supplements containing folic acid before and during the initial stages of pregnancy in a dose of 400 micrograms a day. It is regarded as a preventive measure intended to decrease the risk of neural tube birth defects in the child in the womb.

Lead researcher Michael Davies says they failed to discover any asthma threat if folic acid supplements are used inside the mentioned period. Whereas when the intake of the supplemental doses proceeds into the late months of pregnancy the risk of asthma begins to increase.

The report says that no such influence was found in the maternal dietary folate levels.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/memoossa.

Especially it relates to polluted areas where asthma constitutes a greater threat for children of tense parents than for other children living in the same neighborhood.

An article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explains that stressful condition makes the person’s airways more vulnerable to the inflammatory effects of polluting agents in traffic exhaust and cigarette smoke.

Therefore, the researchers point out, children living in a polluted environment in combination with a stress-riddled home run a much higher risk of developing asthma.

These youngsters also tend to feel more stressed than their peers.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/bies.

They studied the link between the diet of 1000 pregnant women and the health of their children under five years of age.

The findings show that women who ate apples every day during pregnancy period reduced the risk of allergy in their babies by 37% and the risk of asthma by 46%.

Health benefits of apples are explained by their high content of strong flavonoids and other antioxidants. One apple per day is enough to be protected.

Research team also found that eating fish once a week lowers the risk of eczema and dermatitis in infants. To avoid food allergies, doctors encourage pregnant women keep a balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables and stay away from too much nuts (especially peanut) that, on the contrary, may trigger allergy in babies.