Low vitamin intake linked to high risk of asthma

By David Liu davidl at foodconsumer dot org

Low vitamin intake may raise the risk and severity of asthma, NaturalNews.com reported citing a new study by researchers from Nottingham University in the UK.

Jo Leonardi-Bee and colleagues meta-analyzed data pooled from 40 studies conducted between between 1980 and 2007 and found people with asthma had a significantly lower daily intake of vitamin A than those who did not have the illness.

The researchers also found that those who had severe asthma tended to have 50 percent lower vitamin A intake than those who had a milder asthma.

Foods high in vitamin A include sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot, cantaloupe, spinach, kale, collards, and butternut squash.

In addition to vitamin A, vitamin C intake was also found to be associated with asthma risk.

People with insufficient intake of vitamin C were at 12 percent lower risk of developing asthma than those with a higher intake of the nutrient.

Foods high in vitamin C include orange juice, grapefruit juice, strawberries, tomato, sweet red pepper, broccoli and potato.

The researchers did not find any association between vitamin E intake and asthma risk. However, people with severe asthma had 20 percent lower levels of vitamin E in their blood than those with mild asthma.

Other studies have already linked low vitamin D levels with severe asthma.

The results of the current study were published in the journal Thorax.