If you find the park or even your backyard refreshing, you’re not alone. And the benefits may be stronger than you think.
If your world is all concrete and steel, could be more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, as well as other health problems. Dutch researchers studied more than 300,000 Dutch adults and children, and discovered that those living close to more green spaces had slightly lower rates of different health conditions like asthma, heart disease, migraine, diabetes, and chronic neck and back pain.

The strongest health association was between lack of green spaces and people suffering from depression and …read more

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is set to test the H1N1 vaccine in people who have asthma, news reports say. According to a press release issued on Friday, October 9,
“People with severe asthma often take high doses of glucocorticoids that can suppress their immune system, placing them at greater risk for infection and possibly serious disease caused by 2009 H1N1 influenza virus,” says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. “We need to determine the optimal dose of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine that can be safely administered to this at-risk population and whether one or two doses are needed to …read more

Asthma is a serious illness that makes it difficult to breathe. It can attack anyone at any time (Let’s Talk About…Asthma). If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to experience an asthma attack, take a straw. Close your mouth around it and pinch your nose. Now try taking deep breaths in – and out – through the straw. That may give you a tiny idea of what it’s like.
Some places around the world and here in North America are worse than others for people with asthma. Smog and pollution is a number one enemy to an asthmatic. But where is …read more

Air Canada has joined other airlines (United Airlines, Continental, and American/American Eagle, for example) in allowing small dogs and cats that can fit in under seat carriers into airplane cabins.

As a pet lover, I know how important our animal friends are, but how safe is this for people with respiratory problems and/or severe allergies to the animals?
Air Canada has said that there would be a limit to the number of animals allowed on each flight, the number depending on the size of the plane, and that the animals would all be in the same section. But for someone with a …read more

Fish oil supplements are known for their health benefits, not only in cardiovascular health, but also possibly in aging-related maladies such as Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, a recent study reveals that the intake of fish oil during late pregnancy may also prevent the development of asthma in children.
Under the assumption that intake of olive oil in the dose provided here was inert, our results support that increasing omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in late pregnancy may carry an important prophylactic potential in relation to offspring asthma.”
In fact, the hazard rate for children of mothers consuming fish oil supplements during the …read more

The McMaster University needs volunteers for its study aiming to determine potential protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids against asthma.
To be eligible to participate, you must be:

male or female
18 to 55 years of age
non-smoker
taking asthma medications and requiring bronchodilator medication for periodic symptom relief and/or to protect against exercise-induced asthma symptoms

Eligible participants will undergo:

comprehensive assessment of asthma and assessment of the effects of your current therapy
blood samples are required for cholesterol testing
provided with dietary supplementation of omega-3 fatty acid capsules for two three-week periods
requires four two-hour visits to the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health research clinic in Hamilton over …read more

Ooops, it’s already the middle of the week and not a single new entry here at Eating Fabulous. Sorry for that. My two month old daughter has been admitted to the hospital for bronchiolitis. She’s ok now, but what concerns me is this, especially because asthma runs in our family:
Kids who have had bronchiolitis may be more likely to develop asthma later in life, but it’s unclear whether the illness causes or triggers asthma, or whether children who eventually develop asthma were simply more prone to developing bronchiolitis as infants. Studies are being done to clarify the relationship between bronchiolitis …read more

Probiotics has been considered to be a powerful tool in helping strengthen immune systems and reduce the effects of allergies, asthma, and other chronic immune-related diseases.
Although I find this article to be a bit too negative on the use of antibiotics, it does explain well how probiotics can put our body microflora into balance, particularly after a long treatment regimen with antibiotics.
“It’s important to remember that the other half of the therapy is to replant the forest with the good bacteria,” Huffnagle says. And while scientists are still trying to determine exactly how the microflora in the digestive tract …read more

More and more scientific data are showing the relationship between maternal nutrition and fetal conditioning, i.e., how a pregnant woman’s diet affect the health of her child later in life.
A new study of 1924 children, published in the early online edition of Thorax, indicate that mothers who eat apples and fish during pregnancy may protect their children from developing asthma and allergies later in life.
According to the research, “The present study suggests beneficial associations between maternal apple intake during pregnancy and wheeze and asthma at age five years.” They add that their findings “suggest an apple specific effect, …read more

Here’s a more direct reason why we should encourage healthy eating in children, particularly a diet rich in fish and whole grains. Fish and whole grains may protect against asthma.
After adjusting the results for possible confounding factors, [snip] Tabak reports that high intakes of whole grains and fish were associated with a 54 and 66 per cent reduction in the probability of being asthmatic, respectively. The probability of having asthma with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR), defined as having an increased sensitivity to factors that cause narrowing of the airways, was reduced by 72 and 88 per cent when children had a …read more