During pregnancy it is especially important for a woman to stay as healthy as possible. Whether that means eating right, not drinking alcohol or not becoming unnecessarily stressed, the important thing is that she avoids anything that could be potentially damaging to her or her baby. This can be especially true with regards to the levels of nutrients in her body.
We know how important vitamins and minerals are to us, but consider that a pregnant woman has to provide the levels of nutrients for her unborn child as well and you can then see how crucial they can be. While this might seem like simple common sense there is now scientific evidence that suggests that the diet of a pregnant woman could cause her baby to develop allergic asthma.
Researchers at National Jewish Health and Duke University Medical Center conducted a study using mice and found that pregnant mice that were given diets high in supplements containing folic acid and methyl-containing foodstuffs had offspring with more severe allergic airway diseases than those mice that were not given them. The results were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
While the study was only conducted on mice, the team suggested that similar results could be expected in humans as well. The results could account for the dramatic increase in asthma during the past two decades, as they suggest it may be partly related to recent changes in dietary supplementation taken by women at childbearing age.
The danger of developing asthma has nearly doubled over the last 25 years. Many theories have been suggested as to what causes the condition, and while it’s believed that genes and environment both play a role, a definitive answer has not yet been found. This new research could provide a valuable insight.
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