Low-fat yogurt intake when pregnant may lead to child asthma and hay fever

European Lung Foundation ^ | September 17, 2011 | Unknown

[decimon]

Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Eating low-fat yoghurt whilst pregnant can increase the risk of your child developing asthma and allergic rhinitis (hay fever), according to recent findings.

The study will be presented at the European Respiratory Society's (ERS) Annual Congress in Amsterdam on 25 September 2011. All the abstracts for the ERS Congress will be publicly available online from today (17 September 2011).

The study aimed to assess whether fatty acids found in dairy products could protect against the development of allergic diseases in children.

The researchers assessed milk and dairy intake during pregnancy and monitored the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis using registries and questionnaires in the Danish National Birth Cohort.

The results showed that milk intake during pregnancy was not associated with increased risk of developing asthma and it actually protected against asthma development. However, women who ate low-fat yoghurt with fruit once a day were 1.6-times more likely to have children who developed asthma by age 7, compared with children of women who reported no intake. They were also more likely to have allergic rhinitis and to display current asthma symptoms.

The researchers suggest that non-fat related nutrient components in the yoghurt may play a part in increasing this risk. They are also looking at the possibility that low-fat yoghurt intake may serve as a marker for other dietary and lifestyle factors.

Ekaterina Maslova, lead author from the Harvard School of Public Health, who has been working with data at the Centre for Fetal Programming at Statens Serum Institut, said: "This is the first study of its kind to link low-fat yoghurt intake during pregnancy with an increased risk of asthma and hay fever in children. This could be due to a number of reasons and we will further investigate whether this is linked to certain nutrients or whether people who ate yoghurt regularly had similar lifestyle and dietary patterns which could explain the increased risk of asthma."

[decimon]

Other low-fat dairy products? Other foods?

[decimon]

Ping

[Roos_Girl]

Hard to find whole milk yogurt these days. I like the Cascadian Fresh brand because it uses only fruit to sweeten, no sugar, but the rare stores that do carry it even more rarely have the whole milk version.

[Bean Counter]

I buy plain lowfat yogurt in large containers (really cheap) and feed it like clabber to the chickens. The cultures are great for their gut...

[Hawthorn]

You can’t find whole milk yogurt? Then do like me and make your own. It’s super easy! See this thread for a discussion:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2695009/posts

[Yaelle]

I am also always searching out full fat plain organic yogurt. You can find it but it takes a search. Everyone thinks low- or nonfat is the bees’ knees, but it’s only sugar. And sugar is far worse than fat.

[goodwithagun]

We don't eat any low-fat dairy products. We've also eliminated anything labeled fat-free, low-cal, and sugar-free. Other than our regular exercise schedules, we haven't had to watch our weight at all since ditching typical “health food.” My son and I both eat full fat yogurt and love it. He actually gets it out of the fridge and brings it to me. How many three-year-olds ask for plain Greek yogurt?

[libbylu]

I worked with a woman who dropped all fat from her diet including meats. She developed asthma. Gave me a beautiful cat she thought she had become allergic to. I think if you don’t get enough of the right fats your mucous membranes aren’t protected and those fats contain vitamins A and D and whatever else to do a complete job. I’ve never convinced anyone I thought needed this.

[Red_Devil 232]

Sounds like a good way to dispose of it!

[RobertClark]

Wait a minute - I thought all of these issues could be attributed to vaccinations?

[annelizly]

and here I thought that all us nasty smokers caused childhood asthma

[annelizly]

and here I thought that all us nasty smokers caused childhood asthma

[Yardstick]

Good old Dannon plain yogurt is made from whole milk. It’s available at Walmart around here. I was thinking it was a common national brand but maybe not.

[aruanan]

The researchers suggest that non-fat related nutrient components in the yoghurt may play a part in increasing this risk.

How about the more obvious: there is a certain amount of dietary fat and cholesterol that infants require both pre- and post-birth for adequate development of the nervous and immune systems.

[Roos_Girl]

I guess I was unclear. I really only eat the Cascade Fresh brand because it's sweetened with fruit juice and not sugar. Plain yogurt is quite unpalatable to me. Plus I like organic/antibiotic free/growth hormone free (preferably grass fed and raw if I can find it) dairy products, so Dannon or other normal commercial brands aren't really an option for me. But, I'm pregnant and need to make sure I'm getting adequate dairy intake, so maybe I'll just switch to more milk and cheese.

[Roos_Girl]

Thanks for the recipe!

[lastchance]

There is a brand called Liberate’ which is a whole fat yogurt. It is yummy.