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Asthma

Research from the United Kingdom published in 2007 reports that children of mothers who eat apples during pregnancy are much less likely to exhibit symptoms of asthma, including wheezing. The study tracked dietary intake of 1,200 pregnant women and examined the effects of the maternal diet on airway development in their children five years later. Among a variety of foods consumed and recorded by the pregnant women, apples were the only food found to have a positive association with a reduced risk of asthma.

Australian researchers also studying the relationship between diet and asthma report that, among the fruits and vegetables they studied, apples and pears appear to provide the best protection against the chronic lung disease. The scientists noted that more research is needed to determine whether changes in diet could be used to prevent asthma or lessen its severity.

Finally, researchers from London's King's College and the University of Southampton report that people who ate at least two apples per week had a 22 to 32 percent lower risk of developing asthma than people who ate fewer apples. Their conclusions were based on a population-based case-control study of 1,471 adults in the United Kingdom that sought to examine how dietary antioxidants might affect asthma risk and severity.