Study: Certain Foods Linked to Asthma in Children

By HelloLife

Another reason to keep driving past the fast food: according to Science Daily, eating three or more burgers a week may boost a child's risk of asthma and wheezing. These findings are based on empirical data recorded between 1995 and 2005 among 50,000 children between the ages of 8 and 12, from 20 rich and poor countries around the world. Certain information was necessary for the study such as the normal diet for each child, and whether or not they were diagnosed with asthma. Children with a high fruit diet exhibited fewer signs of asthma. A diet rich in fish protected children in rich countries, whereas a diet high in cooked green vegetables protected children in poor countries. The overall consensus was that a Mediterranean diet fruits, vegetables and fish seemed to help manage asthma. With potent antioxidants found in both fruit and vegetables, and omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, biologically plausible correlations between diet and asthma could certainly exist. Interestingly, a heavy meat diet had no bearing on the prevalence of asthma, even though statistically it was shown that three or more burgers can exacerbate asthma in children. One possible reason: burger consumption simply could stand as a proxy for other lifestyle factors. In other words, it's not about meat; it's about the lifestyle associated with burgers. Set a healthy baseline for your family - it's not that you can't ever eat a burger again! Just make an honest evaluation of how often your children eat fast food, and then make a realistic goal to reduce that number. The time and energy investment now will be well worth the future health of your family!

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100602193320.htm