According to recent research drinking apple juice could halve the risk of developing asthma. Eating a banana can cut the risk by a third, according to the same researchers, but consuming whole apples appears to have no affect.

The researchers believe that the steady rise of asthma could be linked to increased consumption of fast foods and decreased consumption of natural, fresh foods. The latest study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, in June 20007, looked at almost 2,700 primary school children and found those drinking apple juice at least once a day were 50 per cent less likely to develop asthma symptoms. Researchers led by Professor Peter Burney at the National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, were surprised a glass of apple juice a day was more protective-than eating apples – or any other fruit other than bananas. They believe the health benefits may be dose related because the children drink more of the content from apples through juice rather than by eating the fruit.

A Greek study has found children who eat a Mediterranean diet full of fruit, vegetables and nuts are less likely to develop asthma and allergies.

Just breathe: Breathing deeply could help asthma suffers, according to new research fro the University Of Sydney, Australia.

The study was conducted on 57 asthma patients who were taught either how to do shallow nasal breathing with slow exhalations or to inhale and exhale in time with upper body movements or whenever they felt an attack coming on. After three months, use of inhalers in both groups had fallen by an incredible 86%.

Children who eat a Mediterranean diet packed with fruit, vegetables and nuts are less likely to develop asthma and allergies, say researchers. A study carried out on the Greek island of Crete found eating high quantities of traditional foods such as olive oil could protect youngsters from wheezing and other allergic symptoms.

Researchers found eight out of 10 children ate fresh fruit — and over two thirds of them fresh vegetables — at least twice a day. The effect of diet was strongest on allergic rhinitis which results in a runny or blocked nose, but it also gave protection against asthma symptoms and skin allergies. Children who ate nuts at least three times a week were less likely to wheeze, as well as those who enjoyed grapes.

But high consumption of margarine doubled the chances of asthma and allergic rhinitis, says a report published in the medical journal Thorax. Researchers believe the epidemic of asthma in developed countries could be linked to a move away from natural, fresh foods to fast foods — as has happened here since the 1970s. In recent years the Mediterranean diet has been thought to also improve heart health and stave off cancer because it is high in fruit, vegetables, fish and ‘healthy’ fats such as those in olive oil, while low in red meat and dairy products.