So frequently different forms of food, respiratory and skin allergies are linked, this small original study by a team from La Trobe's School of Psychology and Public Health (Australia) reveals that the consumption of fish such as salmon, trout and Sardines as part of a healthy diet can reduce asthma symptoms in children. Thus, the study to be published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics shows that asthmatic children who follow a Mediterranean-type diet enriched with fatty fish benefit from improved lung function after only 6 months.
These findings add to the growing body of evidence supporting the benefits of a healthy diet in fighting asthma in children. “We already knew that a diet high in fat, sugar and salt can influence the development and progression of asthma in children, now we have evidence that it is also possible to manage symptoms asthma by eating healthily," the authors write in their press release.
The clinical trial is conducted with 64 children aged 5 to 12 suffering from mild asthma. The children were divided into 2 groups, one of which followed a diet comprising 2 meals of cooked fatty fish per week (at least 150 grams) as part of a Mediterranean diet for a period of 6 months. The other children followed their normal diet. At the end of the trial, the researchers found that the children in the intervention group saw their bronchial inflammation considerably reduced.
An “omega-3” effect? Oily fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids , which have been documented to have anti-inflammatory properties. The study specifically shows that eating fish twice a week reduces lung inflammation in children with asthma. Promising results, according to the main author, Catherine Itsiopoulos, professor and researcher at the “Trobe”:
" Following a traditional Mediterranean diet rich in plant-based foods and fatty fish could be an easy, safe and effective way to reduce asthma symptoms in children ."
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