Mediterranean diet benefits child from birth

Eating a Mediterranean diet while pregnant can help mothers protect their child against allergies, new research has suggested.

A team from the University of Crete, who followed 468 mothers and their children from pregnancy until the offspring was six and a half, found that women who ate lots of vegetables, fruit, nuts and fish were less likely to have children who developed asthma and allergies.

Mothers who ingested high levels of red meat, more than three to four times a week, were also found to increase their child's risk.

"This study adds to previous research which shows that a Mediterranean diet, which traditionally contains higher levels of fresh fruit and vegetables, can have a beneficial effect on asthma symptoms," said Leanne Male, assistant director of Research at the charity Asthma UK.

"And specifically these benefits can be passed onto the pregnant mother's unborn child."

She added that the UK had "one of the highest rates of childhood asthma worldwide, with one in ten children suffering from the condition", and therefore the research was of particular significance.

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