We can no longer count the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. If it decreases the risk of heart attack, diabetes and depression, or even protects against pollution and cognitive decline, it would also help fight asthma in children. This is what researchers at the University of La Trobe (Australia) discovered. According to them, a Mediterranean diet supplemented by two weekly meals containing oily fish would reduce inflammation of the respiratory tract. The results of their research were published on October 30 in The Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.
Asthma in children is the most common respiratory disorder in the world. In France, at least 10% of the youngest suffer from it. This chronic disease is also one of the main causes of hospitalizations and school absenteeism in this population. Australian researchers therefore looked at the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of omega-3 fatty acids, and their effectiveness in the treatment of asthma.
Fish for better lung functions
To do this, the scientists studied for six months 64 Greek children, aged 5 to 12 years with mild asthma. They separated the children into two groups. Half ate each week, as part of the Mediterranean diet, two meals containing cooked fatty fish (150 grams at least). The other half were following their usual diet. At the same time, their lung functions and the level of bronchial inflammation were measured.
At the end of the trial, the researchers found that children with asthma who ate a healthy Mediterranean diet enriched with fatty fish had significantly improved lung function, unlike the control group. “We already know that a diet high in fat, sugar and salt can influence the development and progression of asthma in children and we now have evidence that it is also possible to manage the symptoms of asthma. ‘asthma through healthy eating’, declares on the University of La Trobe website Maria Papamichael, principal investigator of the study.
“The asthma rate around the world remains high. It is imperative that we identify new therapies that we can use alongside conventional asthma medications ”, said Bircan Erbas, epidemiologist of allergic respiratory diseases who supervised the study. Professor and researcher Catherine Itsiopoulos adds, still on the site: “Following a traditional Mediterranean diet rich in plant-based foods and oily fish could be an easy, safe and effective way to reduce asthma symptoms in children.”. However, further research is needed to strengthen these results, the researchers say.
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