Mediterranean diet for healthy children

A Mediterranean diet including fruits, veggies, cereals, beans, nuts, fish & olive oil during pregnancy may protect new-borns from asthma & allergies. The traditional Mediterranean diet is rich in plant-based foods -- vegetables, fruits, whole grain breads and cereals, legumes, and nuts -- as well as olive oil and fish. Some studies have suggested that such eating patterns can lower children's odds of asthma symptoms and skin and nasal allergies. However, whether women can protect their children from future allergy risks by following a Mediterranean diet during pregnancy is not yet clear. To evaluate this, researchers in Greece analysed 460 mother/child pairs, from pregnancy until the children were 6 years old. The researchers found that the majority of mothers scored high in Mediterranean diet quality during pregnancy, while 36 percent had low scores. Children whose mothers did not follow a Mediterranean diet during pregnancy were found to be at a higher risk of developing asthma and allergies than their counterparts. Mothers who ate eight or more vegetable servings per week during pregnancy were less likely to develop persistent wheezing. The same was true of children whose mothers ate three or more fish servings a week. The findings could be attributed to the high antioxidants and healthy omega-3 fats present in the traditional Mediterranean diet, which may benefit fetal development and lower the risk of allergies. More studies are expected in this direction.

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