Can an Apple a Day Keep Asthma Away?
Reported July 10, 2007
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