Eating well seems to be good for people
From: http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DietNutrition/tb/5394
Mediterranean Diet Linked to Lower Pediatric Atopy
By Crystal Phend, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor at the University
of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
April 05, 2007
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LONDON, April 5 -- On the eastern Mediterranean island of Crete, where
olive oil is the primary source of fat, children with allergic
rhinitis are uncommon.
An environmental medicine team here believes there is a connection
between the relative lack of allergic symptoms in these children in
rural Crete and the prototypical Mediterranean diet they
consume--plant foods such as fruits and vegetables, bread and cereals
(primarily whole grain), legumes and nuts.
Action Points
* Explain to interested patients that the Mediterranean diet has
been linked in adults to lower risk of heart disease, hypertension,
metabolic disorders, as well as to asthma and allergies.
* Caution patients that due to the study design further study will
be needed to draw causal relationships between the Mediterranean diet,
elements of it, and childhood allergies and asthma.
High adherence to the antioxidant-rich Mediterranean diet reduced risk
of allergic rhinitis significantly (P<0.05) with modest benefit
against asthma symptoms, said Paul Cullinan, M.D., of the Royal
Brompton Hospital and National Heart and Lung Institute here, and
colleagues.
Components of the diet, such as oranges, tomatoes, and nuts,
significantly reduced wheezing and allergic rhinitis, they reported
online in the journal Thorax.
The Mediterranean diet is best known for its apparent cardiovascular
benefits, but it has also been associated with reduce risk of asthma
in adults, said the authors. The few findings in children have been
inconsistent.
The researchers looked at food-intake frequency and parent-reported
allergies and asthma symptoms among children and teens in rural areas
of Crete. Skin ***** tests were also done for Mediterranean grass
pollen, Parietaria, olive blossom, two types of dust mites, mold, cat,
goat, cockroach, and poultry epithelium.
In a cross-sectional survey in 690 children ages seven to 18, the
prevalence of symptoms was 16.8% for any wheezing (4.6% current) and
18.7% for rhinitis symptoms in the past (13.3% current, 5.1% current
seasonal). A little over a fifth of the children had at least one
atopic response during skin ***** testing. Nocturnal dry cough in the
prior year apart from a cold was reported for 10.9%.
Most of the respondents were found to have moderate or high adherence
to a Mediterranean diet (43.8%and 28.3%, respectively). Adherence was
not linked to potential confounders including sex, parental education
status, number of siblings, reported parental asthma and current
parental farming.
Among the findings for the overall Mediterranean diet, the researchers
reported (high versus average adherence):
* Lower occurrence of allergic rhinitis ever (odds ratio 0.34, 95%
confidence interval 0.18 to 0.64, P<0.01).
* Less allergic rhinitis ever with atopy (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.13 to
0.97, P<0.05).
* Less current allergic rhinitis (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.99,
P<0.05)
* A lower occurrence of nocturnal dry cough (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.23
to 0.96, P<0.05).
* A nonsignificant trend for a protective effect against current
wheezing symptoms (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.34 to 1.32) and atopy (OR 0.54,
95% CI 0.21 to 1.99).
For specific food components of the Mediterranean diet, the findings
were:
* Wheezing ever was lower with daily consumption of grapes (OR
0.19, P=0.001), oranges (OR 0.30, P<0.05), apples (OR 0.14, P<0.01),
and fresh tomatoes (OR 0.32, P<0.01).
* Daily consumption of grapes also reduced current wheezing (OR
0.32, P<0.05), allergic rhinitis ever (OR 0.31, P<0.01), current
allergic rhinitis (OR 0.36, P<0.05), and current seasonal allergic
rhinitis (OR 0.18, P<0.01).
* Allergic rhinitis ever was lower with daily intake of oranges
(OR 0.29, P<0.05) and kiwi (OR 0.37, P<0.05).
* Consumption of nuts more than three times per week was linked to
less likelihood of wheezing ever (OR 0.54, P<0.01) and current wheeze
(OR 0.46, P<0.05).
* Weekly margarine intake was associated with more current
wheezing (OR 2.19, P<0.05), allergic rhinitis ever (OR 1.99, P=0.001),
and current allergic rhinitis (OR 2.10, P<0.01).
The findings are consistent with previous epidemiological studies on
the protective effects of citrus, apples and tomatoes on asthma and
rhinitis symptoms, though grapes had not previously been reported as a
protective, said the investigators.
"It is possible that the beneficial effect of grape intake on wheezing
and allergic rhinitis symptoms is mediated through the antioxidant
effect of grape phenolic content," Dr. Cullinan and colleagues wrote.
Nuts may have an effect because of their high vitamin E and magnesium
content, the researchers added.
The study could not draw causal relationships due to the
cross-sectional design, so "longitudinal studies with measurement of
lung function volumes, bronchial hyper-responsiveness and parental
atopy are needed," they said.
Nonetheless, the results suggest adding allergies and asthma to the
"large body of evidence" linking the Mediterranean diet to reduced
all-cause mortality, metabolic disorders, high blood pressure,
coronary heart disease and various types of cancer, they concluded
Charles
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