(NaturalPath) According to a study out of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, a higher intake of foods containing vitamin D during pregnancy – but not supplemental vitamin D intake – was associated with a reduced risk of development of allergies in children.
The study evaluated 1,248 mothers and their children in the United States from the first trimester until the children were seven years old. The results indicated a 20 percent reduction in hay fever at school age for those individuals that ingested a higher amount of food-based vitamin D (about an eight-ounce serving of milk per day). There was no risk reduction linked to vitamin D intake by supplement.
Vitamin D modulates the immune system, and its potential role in asthma and allergy has been of interest. This study is unique because it assess vitamin D levels at multiple points and by different methods in both the mothers and school-age children.
For more information, read the full study.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/tmsh-vdf021116.php
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.