Pregnant women who consumed a lot of green and yellow vegetables, and citrus fruit had a lower risk of eczema in their babies

Two previous studies showed inverse relationships between maternal vitamin E and zinc intake during pregnancy and the risk of wheeze and/or asthma in the offspring.

This study included 763 Japanese mother and their children, and investigated the association between maternal intake of vegetables, fruit, and selected antioxidants during pregnancy and the risk of wheeze and eczema in the offspring aged 16–24 months.

Higher maternal intake of green and yellow vegetables, citrus fruit, and β-carotene during pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of eczema, but not wheeze.

Maternal vitamin E consumption during pregnancy was inversely related to the risk of infantile wheeze, but not eczema.

No associations were observed between maternal intake of total vegetables, vegetables other than green and yellow vegetables, total fruit, apples, α-carotene, vitamin C, or zinc and the risk of wheeze or eczema in the children.

The authors concluded that higher maternal consumption of green and yellow vegetables, citrus fruit, and β-carotene during pregnancy may be protective against the development of eczema in the offspring. On the other hand, higher maternal vitamin E intake during pregnancy may reduce the risk of infantile wheeze.

Diet for the prevention of asthma and allergies in early childhood: there are no evidence-based recommendations (http://goo.gl/j3Al8).

References:

Consumption of vegetables, fruit, and antioxidants during pregnancy and wheeze and eczema in infants. Y. Miyake 1 , S. Sasaki 2 , K. Tanaka 1 & Y. Hirota 3. Allergy, Jan 2010.

Maternal diet during lactation and allergic sensitization in the offspring at age of 5 - Finnish study, 2011. http://goo.gl/wHMgF
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