ORLANDO (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Eating your fruits and veggies can keep you
healthy in one more place -- your chest!
A recent study suggests teenagers who follow a healthy and balanced diet -- rich
in vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants -- report fewer coughs,
respiratory infections, and less severe asthma-related symptoms.
The research team from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston surveyed
more than 2,000 12th-grade students from the United States and Canada. Study
authors say they focused on teens because it is the ideal age at which to test
lung capacity and eating habits.
Researchers found at least one third of the students' diets were below
recommended levels of fruits, vegetables, vitamins A and E, beta-carotene and
omega-3 fatty acids. Diets low in these nutrients were associated with decreased
lung function and a greater risk of chronic wheeze and asthma.
Carlos A. Camargo, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine & Epidemiology
at Harvard Medical School says the best way to get vitamins and minerals is from
food rather than from a supplement. "I would encourage children to try to get
all of their vitamins and minerals from foods," Dr. Carmargo told Ivanhoe. "As a
general rule, the only vitamin supplement that I think some U.S. adolescents may
need is vitamin D, especially in the winter and at northern latitudes.
Otherwise, a healthy diet should provide all of the vitamins and minerals that
growing children need."
SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Carlos A. Camargo, M.D., Ph.D.; Chest,
published online July 9, 2007
