Children's Health: Eating apples during pregnancy may ward off kids' asthma

Pregnant women who consume apples or apple juice can lower their child's future risk of wheezing and asthma, a European study suggests.

Researchers in the Netherlands and Scotland recruited more than 1,200 women during pregnancy and questioned them about their diet. They also obtained information about their children's diet and tested them for allergies.

Children of mothers who consumed more than four portions of apple or apple juice per week had a 37 per cent lower risk of wheezing and a 46 per cent lower risk of having asthma at age five.

Other than apples, no link was found between a mother's food consumption and a child's risk of asthma. However, maternal fish consumption at least once a week was associated with a 43 per cent lower risk of eczema, an allergic skin condition.