Pregnant Mothers Need Vitamin E to Reduce Asthma in Children

According to a study, expectant mothers should eat plenty of vegetable oils, margarine, nuts and sunflower seeds, as well as other foods rich in vitamin E, to help ward off the possibility of their unborn children developing asthma.

The study was done at the University of Aberdeen involving 2,000 pregnant women and their children. The team studied them over a five-year period and concluded that children of mothers with the lowest amount of vitamin E were five times more likely to develop signs of asthma by their fifth birthday. Those taking high amounts of vitamin E were less likely to see signs of asthma such as wheezing, coughing and tightness in the chest.

The researchers recommend a balanced diet, but claim that getting enough vitamin E during the first sixteen months of pregnancy is crucial, due to the fact that the airways are fully developed in the embryo by sixteen weeks.

The study was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Surprising findings were that the children’s own diet did not seem to be a factor in whether or not they developed asthma.