A novel study reveals that pregnant women who consume low-fat yoghurt could increase the threat of developing asthma and hay fever in their babies. For their analysis researchers from the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, examined the diet patterns of more than seventy thousand Danish women.
The children of study participants were also followed up to the age of seven. They found that pregnant women who consumed low-fat yoghurt diet with fruit once a day were one and half times more prone to have babies developing asthma by reaching the age of seven, in comparison to pregnant women who did not consume low-fat yoghurt diet.
The study also revealed that babies of pregnant women those consumed low-fat yoghurt were more prone to have symptoms of allergic rhinitis and recurrent asthma. But the study finding showed that drinking milk during pregnancy was not associated with increased risk of asthma. Indeed, milk was found to protect against development of asthma.
According to study author Ekaterina Maslova form the Harvard School of Public Health, It was a puzzling finding. The absence of fatty acids in low-fat yoghurt might be the key aspect to the results. The results suggested that fatty acids play a significant role in fortifying the body against allergies.
People who consumed this kind of yoghurt had analogous lifestyle and dietary patterns, but no conclusions at this stage could be made. They need to repeat these results in further studies, added Maslova. There is abundance of evidence which suggest the pre-natal environment can influence health of a child, explained Leanne Metcalf, director of research from Asthma UK.
Eating a healthy and balanced diet at any time, but particularly during pregnancy is advisable and they recommend that pregnant women should discuss any drastic changes to their diet with their gynecologist first, she concluded. The results of the study were presented at European Respiratory Society Conference.