A diet high in fiber can help ease the effects of asthma. A new study from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) found that fruits and vegetables in particular are especially beneficial to asthma sufferers.
Researchers found, through a study involving mice, that the fibers found in fruits and vegetables help release fatty acids into the bloodstream during the digestion process. These acids have an affect on the immune system’s relationship with the lungs. These findings
build upon the existing knowledge that a mix of microbes that digest fiber can help prevent intestinal cancer.
“We are now showing for the first time that the influence of gut bacteria extends much further, namely up to the lungs,” said Professor Benjamin Marsland, lead researcher.
During the study, lab mice were placed into three groups — a low-fiber diet comparable to the typical Western diet (no more than 0.6 percent), a standard diet of 4 percent fiber, and a diet of enriched fermentable fibers. Researchers them exposed the mice to house dust mites in order to provoke an allergic response.
The mice on the low-fiber diet had a strong allergic reaction and had more mucus in the lungs than mice in the other two groups. Those on the enriched fiber diet had even less of an allergic reaction those on the standard diet.
Marsland says the findings are relevant because of the lack of fiber in a typical Western diet, and the similarities between mice and humans’ immune systems. However, he says more research needs to be done to truly understand the relationship between fermentable fibers and allergies.
(By Marissa Brassfield for CalorieLab)
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