Pregnant mothers who have a craving for sweets and sugary products may be putting their child at risk of allergies and Asthma, according to new research. Researchers studied all kinds of asthma allergies ranging from cat allergies to those caused by dust mites and grass. Allergic asthma is caused when a person is allergic to dust particles.
The study published in the European Respiratory Journal is significant because according to the World Health Organization around 235 million people in the world suffer from asthma, a large portion of those are children.
According to the WHO’s predictions, this number will almost double to around 400 million people by 2025. So it becomes vital to understand what causes asthma and if there is any way to prevent it.
Sugar consumption in mother linked to allergic asthma in children
The research was conducted by scientists at the Queen Mary University of London. The team gathered data collected as part of a longtime research regarding the welfare of families who had children between April 1, 1991, and December 31, 1992. The Queen Mary team collected the data from 9,000 mother-child pair who took part in the other on-going research.
Free sugars which are harmful include honey, syrups, fruit juices, and other added sugars.
However, the sugars derived from whole fruits and vegetables are not classified as free sugars and does not cause any known issues to the body of the pregnant mother or her child. It is a known fact that a child’s health is determined by the diet of the mother in the prenatal stages and researchers wanted to if there was any connection between the sugars and the onset of Allergic Asthma.
The research and its results
The scientists asked the pregnant mothers to report their daily intakes of sugar through a detailed questionnaire. The researchers then compared the sugar intake levels with the children being diagnosed with asthma starting at age seven. Through this, they were able to discover that around 62 percent of the children did not suffer from any allergies, but the remaining kids did get diagnosed with some form of allergies.
It was also revealed that mothers with the highest sugar intake were 38 percent more likely to give birth to a child who would suffer from some form of allergies in the future. The risk for allergic asthma in children whose mothers consumed high amounts of sugar was increased by 101 percent. This indicates that the chances doubled with increased consumption of sugars and sugary products. Researchers claimed that this is one of the reasons why pregnant women should always maintain a healthy and balanced diet.
