Oily fish diet

Pregnant women, who eat oily fish such may help protect their children against future asthma.

A study presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in Orlando has revealed that pregnant asthmatic women, who eat oily fish such as salmon or trout, may help protect their children against future asthma.

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The study also found that children whose mother ate fish sticks during pregnancy might be at increased risk of developing asthma, whether or not their mothers had asthma themselves.

"Fish sticks are deep-fried, and they contain omega-6 fatty acids, which encourage inflammation of the airways. Oily fish contain omega-3 fatty acids, which appear to be anti-inflammatory, and lead to the reduced potential for developing asthma and allergies," said study co-author Frank Gilliland, Professor of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

The researchers said that children whose mothers with asthma ate oily fish during pregnancy were 71 per cent less likely to develop asthma on average. In fact, the more oily fish a woman ate, the less likely her child was to develop asthma.

However, children with non-asthmatic mothers did not benefit from having their mother eat oily fish during pregnancy.

"A family history of asthma is a very strong risk factor for a child developing asthma. It appears that oily fish interacts with the genes involved in the predisposition to develop asthma, and somehow reduces the risk," said Gilliland.

The children in the study were selected from 12 Southern California communities. One group of children had physician-diagnosed asthma by age 5, and the other group was asthma-free when the study started. The children's mothers were interviewed about their diet and other environmental exposures during pregnancy.

"We are learning more and more about the importance of fetal exposure to different substances, and how this affects the programming of the baby's immune system," explained Gilliland.