A diet high in fibre could protect against asthma
We’re constantly told the importance of fruit and vegetables, and a new study has revealed it could help to protect against asthma too.
The research, conducted on mice fed a high-fibre diet had less inflamed lungs when exposed to house dust mites that trigger asthma, than those given little of the healthy food.
These findings may apply to humans according to the researchers who published the study in Nature Medicine.
Dr Benjamin Marsland, of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, said to the Mail Online: 'Over recent decades, the incidence of allergic asthma has increased in developing countries, while the consumption of dietary fibre has decreased in these countries.'
His team found mice fed a low fibre diet developed increased lung inflammation in response to dust mites whereas those whose food was enriched with pectin found in the cell walls of plants had reduced allergic airway disease.
He added: 'Moreover, these data can be interpreted within the context of epidemiological studies showing as fibre content in the diet has decreased, the incidence of allergies has increased.
'Taken together, our findings support the concept intervention strategies targeting diet are a valuable approach for not only intestinal diseases but also respiratory inflammatory diseases.'