Women who consume a lot of fiber during pregnancy, thereby reducing the risk of asthma in their children, as reported by the Internet publication for girls and women from 14 to 35 years Pannochka. net This is evidenced by the results of a new study, which was published in the journal Nature Communications.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Alison Thorburn of the Department of Immunology at Monash University in Australia, believes that a high-fiber diet has a positive effect on the intestinal microflora of the mother and promotes the production of anti-inflammatory substances.

The latter, according to the doctor, suppress the expression of asthma-related genes in offspring.

This is not the first scientific study to reveal a link between fiber intake and a reduction in the risk of asthma. In January 2014, Medical News Today reported that in mice fed with a high fiber content, the intensity of reaction to allergens provoking asthma attacks decreased.

In the course of her last work, Dr. Thornburn and her colleagues decided to determine how fiber intake during pregnancy affects the risk of asthma in children. To do this, they used pregnant mice, which were kept on three different diets: low, medium and high in fiber.

When the mice grew, they were exposed to various triggers of asthma, such as home dust mites. Mice, whose mothers consumed a large amount of fiber, did not develop asthma, unlike the rest.

Later, scientists found that in pregnant females who consumed a lot of fiber, there were significant changes in the intestinal microflora. They have a growing population of bacteria that produce anti-inflammatory substances. These metabolites enter the blood of mice, reaching the uterus and fetus, where the Foxp3 genes involved in the development of asthma are suppressed.

Then the scientists turned to the clinical data. They analyzed blood samples of 40 pregnant women and compared them with their medical history and the history of their first-year-old children's illness.

It turned out that in pregnant women who consume a lot of fiber, the level of anti-inflammatory metabolites is also raised in the blood, and their children are much less likely to be shown to the doctor due to respiratory diseases.

"This can explain why rural children are less likely to suffer from asthma than children of asphalt. We have long been interested in what it is connected with. The secret may be that rural women eat more natural plant foods (fiber). Therefore, they have a higher level of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), and their children are less susceptible to asthma and respiratory diseases, "- write scientists.

medbe. en.