A high sugar-to-fat dietary ratio may lower the risk for developing childhood asthma. The surprising results come from researchers in China who looked at the causal relationship between consuming certain nutrients, such as fat, protein, sugar and carbohydrates and the serum circulating concentrations of 17 micronutrients (antioxidants, minerals and vitamins) as it relates to childhood asthma.
The details of, “Dietary intake, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins in relation to childhood asthma: a Mendelian Randomization (MR) study,” were published in Frontiers in Nutrition and suggested a strong association between diet, micronutrients and the onset of the childhood respiratory disease.
Longstanding research has proven that exposure to cigarette particles and air pollution increase the risk for childhood asthma. However, the recent MR study shows that a diverse diet with proper intestinal flora can have a positive impact on lowering the odds for developing the disease.
The MR research method analyzes the relationship between exposure risk factors and disease outcomes. Using genetic variants as instrumental variables, it acts as a substitute for correlated factors. Since alleles are randomly assigned during conception, “genetic variations are less susceptible to measurement bias or confounding factors, such as reverse causation,” the study’s authors wrote. Researchers obtained genetic information concerning childhood asthma from the genome-wide association study (GWAS) Catalog and FinnGen databases to complete the study.
The study also revealed other key observations. Researchers found that elevated levels of serum circulating magnesium and serum vitamin D increased the risk of developing childhood asthma. However, the study’s authors suggested further research is necessary.
