Apples during pregnancy and Asthma

Women who eat apples while pregnant may protect their child from developing asthma.

The study showed that children of moms who munched on more than 4 apples per week were 37 percent less likely to have a history of wheezing and 53 percent less likely to have doctor-confirmed asthma, compared to moms who ate one or no apples per week while pregnant. The effect may be due to apple's phytochemical content, such as flavonoids, which have been shown to have beneficial effects on adult lung function. 

The study also found that eating fish during pregnancy may curb the risk of eczema in offspring. Children of mothers who ate fish once per week or more while pregnant had a 43 percent lower risk of eczema compared to children whose mothers avoided fish altogether.

High Fat Diet and Breast Cancer

Quoting another study from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, Dr. Aggarwal said that in middle-aged women, eating a high-fat diet raises the risk of developing invasive breast cancer. There was 32% increased risk of breast cancer among women with a high level of fats in their diet. The risk was seen for all types of fat (saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) and seemed to be confined to women who were not using hormone replacement therapy. The higher the fat intake, the higher was the risk for breast cancer.

Eat More Fruits

People who eat a diet high in fruit and low in meat reduce their risk of developing colon cancer said Dr. Aggarwal. A team from University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill observed three groups - people who ate a lot of fruit but little meat, people who ate a lot of vegetables and a moderate amount of meat, and people who simply ate a lot of meat. The people who recalled eating large or moderate amounts of meat were 70 percent more likely to have had a polyp than those who said they ate a lot of fruit but little meat.  Just 18 percent of the people who said they ate a lot of fruit but little meat had a polyp, compared to 30 percent of the moderate meat-eaters and 32 percent of people in the high meat-eating group.