Low vitamin E in pregnancy linked to asthma

September 7, 2006 in Nutrition Topics in the News, Vitamins, Minerals, Supplements, Women's Health

Low vitamin E in pregnancy linked to asthma

Researchers from Scotland say mothers with low vitamin E intake during pregnancy are more likely to have kids that develop asthma by the time they are five.

The study, recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine analyzed over 1,800 children born to women recruited during pregnancy and followed for five years.

According to the researchers, children born to mothers with the lowest intake of vitamin E intake were over five times more likely to manifest early persistent asthma than children whose mothers had the highest intake of the vitamin.

Researchers also found that increasing blood levels of alpha-tocopherol, the most abundant form of vitamin E in the diet, was associated with better lung function. In fact, every microgram per millilitre increase in alpha-tocopherol in the mother�s blood was associated with a seven-millilitre increase in lung capacity measurements.

The study cited vegetable oils (sunflower, rapeseed and corn), margarine, wheat germ, nuts and sunflower seeds as major food sources of vitamin E for pregnant mothers taking part in the study.

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