Category Archives: Eczema

Jan. 16, 2013 Eating three or more weekly servings of fast food is linked to the severity of allergic asthma, eczema, and rhinitis among children in the developed world, indicates a large international study published online in the respiratory journal Thorax.

The findings prompt the authors to suggest that a fast food diet may be contributing to the rise in these conditions, and if proved causal, could have huge implications for public health, given the popularity of these foodstuffs.

The authors base their findings on data from more than 319,000 13-14 year olds from 107 centres in 51 countries, and more than181,000 six to seven year olds from 64 centres in 31 countries.

All the participants were involved in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), which is a collaborative research project involving more than 100 countries and nearly two million children, making it the largest study of its kind.

The teens and the children's parents were formally quizzed on whether they had symptoms of asthma (wheeze); rhinoconjunctivitis (which produces a runny or blocked nose accompanied by itchy and watery eyes); and eczema; and their weekly diet.

Questions focused particularly on the severity of symptoms over the preceding 12 months -- including frequency and interference with daily life and/or sleep patterns -- and certain types of food already linked to protective or damaging effects on health

These included meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, pulses, cereals, bread and pasta, rice, butter, margarine, nuts, potatoes, milk, eggs, and fast food/burgers. Consumption was categorised as never; occasionally; once or twice a week; and three or more times a week.

After taking account of factors likely to influence the results, the analysis showed that fast food was the only food type to show the same associations across both age groups, prompting the authors to suggest that "such consistency adds some weight to the possible causality of the relationship."

It was associated with current and severe symptoms of all three conditions among the teens -- across all centres in the participating countries, irrespective of gender or levels of affluence.

The pattern among children was less clear-cut, but a fast food diet was still associated with symptoms across all centres -- except for current eczema -- and poorer countries -- except for current and severe asthma.

The rest is here:
Fast food diet linked to asthma and eczema severity in kids, large study finds

Bad Eczema by NoMoreVitamins com
NoMoreVitamins.com - Don #39;t let diets and hype keep you from the truth about your pain! No, it #39;s not hereditary! There #39;s another way no one has told you about, the holistic way, without more fake vitamins, without more drugs, and without side-effects! Real improvement is often felt the first day and never interacts with any drugs you might be taking! - http

By: stewey patterson

Link:
Bad Eczema by NoMoreVitamins com - Video

Best Treatment for Eczema
Eczema is such a horrid disease that seems to have no cure. In this video I share the awful attack my daughter had with eczema and the awesome cream we discovered online that not only stopped the attacks, but restored her skin to better than before.

By: Babsbaretalk

Read more:
Best Treatment for Eczema - Video

Published January 14, 2013

The Sun

Eating junk food three times a week may lead to asthma and eczema in kids, a study has revealed.

Scientists fear the high saturated fat levels lower childrens immune systems.

A research project involving more than 50 countries found that teenagers who ate food such as burgers three times a week or more were 39 percent more likely to get severe asthma. Younger kids were 27 percent more at risk.

Both were also more prone to the eye condition rhinoconjunctivitis. However, three weekly portions of fruit and vegetables cut the risk by 14 percent in the younger group and 11 percent among the teens.

Researchers from New Zealands Auckland University looked at the diets of 181,000 children aged 6 to 7 and 319,000 aged 13 to 14.

The study also asked if they had allergy symptoms. The study authors said their results do not prove cause and effect.

Click for more from The Sun.

Read this article:
Junk food linked to kids' asthma and eczema

The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) study used written questionnaires completed by 319,196 13- and 14-year-olds from 51 countries and by the parents of 181,631 6- and 7-year-olds in 31 countries. They were asked if they had symptoms of the three conditions and about their weekly diet including the types of foods they ate over the last year, and how often.

We found clear associations between certain foods and severe asthma, hay fever (or allergic rhinoconjunctivitis) and eczema in the largest study of allergies in children (aged 6-7 years) and adolescents (13-14 years) to date, said study author Hywel Williams of the Centre for Evidence Based Dermatology, Queens Medical Centre, University Hospital, Nottingham, UK. According to Williams, the associations between allergic diseases and fast food were only really convincing for severe disease.

Researchers saw a protective effect against severe asthma for those who ate fruit at least three times a week. Those consuming fast food three or more times a week had about a 30% increased risk of severe asthma, hay fever and eczema, a chronic skin condition that causes scaly, itchy rashes. The results were consistent in both age groups. Affluence and gender did not change or affect the outcome.

The cautionary notes are that this study showed an association, which does not always mean that the link between food and allergies is causal, Williams said. It could be due to other factors linked to behavior that we have not measured, or it could be due to biases that occur in studies that measure disease and ask about previous food intake.

Study authors say if further research shows that consuming a lot of fast food actually does cause these types of allergies, it could have major public health implications because of the rise in fast food consumption globally.

Its not at all surprising to me that a disease as complex as asthma would be directly affected by diet. Weve known for a while that diet can affect immune system function with certain foods being pro or anti-inflammatory, says Dr. Stephen Teach, who is the chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Childrens National Medical Center in Washington and was not involved in the research.

Given that asthmas inherently an inflammatory disease, with swelling and inflammation of the small to medium-size airways of the lung, it is not at all surprising that diet should affect those processes in some way.

Teach said its important to note that these are associations only. In other words, it would be wrong to assume from the results of this study that fast foods directly cause allergic disease. It is possible that some unmeasured effect of socioeconomic status or environment which correlates with fast foods may in fact be responsible.

Either way, Williams said, there is a take-home message for parents. He says you dont have to stop eating fast food entires, but to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and maybe less fast food one or two times per week rather than three or more if your child has allergies.

Originally posted here:
Asthma, eczema, hay fever may be linked to fast food

Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Nutrition / Diet Also Included In: Eczema / Psoriasis;Respiratory / Asthma;Pediatrics / Children's Health Article Date: 15 Jan 2013 - 0:00 PST

Current ratings for: Fast Food Linked To Asthma And Eczema In Kids

The finding came from new international research and was published in the journal Thorax.

Similarly, a previous study demonstrated that the benefits of breastfeeding in preventing asthma are cancelled out by eating fast food once or twice a week.

The results of the new study motivated the investigators to believe that a fast food diet may be playing a part in the increase in these conditions. If a causal relationship is found, it could have major importance to public health, considering how popular these fast food places are.

Over 319,000 thirteen to fourteen year olds from 51 countries and over 181,000 six to seven year olds from 31 countries were involved in the study. All of the subjects were enrolled in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), the largest of its kind involving over 100 countries and almost 2 million kids.

The teenagers and the parents of the kids were asked questions regarding symptoms of asthma (wheeze), eczema, rhinoconjunctivitis (runny or blocked nose along with itchy, watery eyes), and their diet on a weekly basis.

The severity of the symptoms that occurred over the past year were assessed through the questions, including how frequent they were and whether or not they interfered with daily routines or sleep patterns.

Regular fast food consumption raises the risk of asthma and eczema in children

They were also asked about their consumption of particular foods that were already associated with protective or damaging influences on health, including:

See the original post here:
Fast Food Linked To Asthma And Eczema In Kids

Kids who eat lots of fast food may risk more than obesity. A new study finds that children and teens who eat fast food at least three times per week are more likely to face serious symptoms for common health woes such as asthma, eczema and hay fever, compared to their healthy-eating classmates.

For the study, researchers looked at data on more than 181,000 children between the ages of 6 and 7 from 31 countries, along with 319,000 children between 13 and 14 years of age collected from 51 countries. They were all enrolled in a study that tracked asthma and allergies in children.

Their parents were surveyed on whether kids had symptoms of asthma, like wheezing, or the runny/stuffy nose and watery eyes associated with allergic hay fever, also known as rhinoconjunctivitis. The researchers also wanted to know if kids had symptoms of the chronic skin disorder eczema, which may cause redness, swelling dry skin all over the body, blisters and crusting.

Eczema is due to "hypersensitivity" reactions similar to an allergy in the skin, according to the National Institutes of Health, and people with the condition often also have asthma or seasonal allergies.

Parents were asked about symptom severity, and were also quizzed on their children's eating habits.

The researchers found fast food was the only type of food to show associations with these chronic medical conditions across both the child and adolescent age groups. Specifically, teens who consumed three or more weekly servings were 39 percent more likely to have severe asthma, while the young children who had those eating habits faced a 27 percent increased risk for severe asthma and severe eczema and allergies.

The study was observational in its comparison of kids' eating habits, which the researchers say does not prove cause and effect. Lead researcher Dr. Hywel Williams from the University of Nottingham in the U.K. told HealthDay that the findings don't necessarily mean that eating less fast food will reduce severity of these conditions.

The study was published online Jan. 14 in Thorax, a respiratory medicine journal published by BMJ.

If the association is confirmed to be causal, "then the findings have major public health significance owing to the rising consumption of fast foods globally," lead researchers Williams and Dr. Innes Asher, from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, said in a journal press release.

Researchers did find a tried-and-true eating habit curbed risk: eating fruit. They found consuming three portions of fruit per week was linked to a 14 percent reduction in symptom severity for children and an 11 percent reduction for the teens.

Read the original:
Fast food frequency linked to asthma, eczema severity in children, teens

Teenagers and young children who eat fast food could be increasing their risk of developing asthma, eczema and hay fever, according to a study published Monday in the British Medical Journal's respiratory journal Thorax.

The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) study used written questionnaires completed by 319,196 13- and 14-year-olds from 51 countries and by the parents of 181,631 6- and 7-year-olds in 31 countries. They were asked if they had symptoms of the three conditions and about their weekly diet - including the types of foods they ate over the last year, and how often.

"We found clear associations between certain foods and severe asthma, hay fever (or allergic rhinoconjunctivitis) and eczema in the largest study of allergies in children (aged 6-7 years) and adolescents (13-14 years) to date," said study author Hywel Williams of the Centre for Evidence Based Dermatology, Queen's Medical Centre, University Hospital, Nottingham, UK. According to Williams, the associations between allergic diseases and fast food were "only really convincing for severe disease."

Researchers saw a protective effect against severe asthma for those who ate fruit at least three times a week. Those consuming fast food three or more times a week had about a 30% increased risk of severe asthma, hay fever and eczema, a chronic skin condition that causes scaly, itchy rashes. The results were consistent in both age groups. Affluence and gender did not change or affect the outcome.

"The cautionary notes are that this study showed an association, which does not always mean that the link between food and allergies is causal," Williams said. "It could be due to other factors linked to behavior that we have not measured, or it could be due to biases that occur in studies that measure disease and ask about previous food intake."

Study authors say if further research shows that consuming a lot of fast food actually does cause these types of allergies, it could have major public health implications because of the rise in fast food consumption globally.

"It's not at all surprising to me that a disease as complex as asthma would be directly affected by diet. We've known for a while that diet can affect immune system function with certain foods being pro or anti-inflammatory," says Dr. Stephen Teach, who is the chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children's National Medical Center in Washington and was not involved in the research.

"Given that asthma's inherently an inflammatory disease, with swelling and inflammation of the small to medium-size airways of the lung, it is not at all surprising that diet should affect those processes in some way."

Teach said it's important to note that these are associations only. "In other words, it would be wrong to assume from the results of this study that fast foods directly cause allergic disease. It is possible that some unmeasured effect of socioeconomic status or environment which correlates with fast foods may in fact be responsible."

Either way, Williams said, there is a take-home message for parents. He says you don't have to stop eating fast food entires, " but to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and maybe less fast food - one or two times per week rather than three or more - if your child has allergies."

View post:
Asthma, eczema may be linked to fast food

Fast food is not just bad for our waistlines, it could also be contributing to the severity of asthma and eczema.

An international study involving half a million children and adolescents found three or more servings of fast food a week was linked to an increased risk of severe asthma, eczema and rhinitis, a condition characterised by a runny nose and watery eyes.

The study, led by Auckland University's paediatrics department and published this week in the respiratory journal Thorax, found a 39 per cent and 27 per cent increased risk of asthma severity in teenagers and children respectively, who consume three or more servings of fast food a week.

Butter, margarine and pasta were also linked with severe asthma in adolescents.

But on the upside, fruit appeared to have a protective effect against the allergic conditions.

Eating three or more portions was linked to a reduction in symptom severity of between 11 per cent and 14 per cent among teenagers and children respectively.

The study was part of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, a large research project encompassing more than 100 countries and nearly two million children worldwide.

The report's authors said there were plausible reasons for fast food increasing the severity of the conditions.

Fast foods often contain high levels of saturated and fatty acids which are known to affect immunity.

Fruit, meanwhile, is rich in antioxidants and other beneficial compounds.

See original here:
Fast food link to asthma, eczema severity

Eating fast food three or more times a week is linked to a higher risk of severe asthma and eczema in children, researchers found.

Teens who ate three or more weekly servings had a 39 percent increased chance of developing severe asthma, while younger children had a 27 percent higher risk, according to a study of 319,000 teens in 51 countries and 181,000 children ages 6 and 7 in 31 countries. The research, led by scientists at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, was published today in the British medical journal Thorax.

The study didnt prove that eating more fast food caused the increase in the conditions, which both can be linked to the overreaction of the bodys immune system. Because fast food was the only dietary category shown to have an association with the disorders, the results suggest that such a diet may cause asthma attacks or eczema outbreaks, the authors said. Conversely, eating three or more servings of fruit a week showed reduced risk in developing those conditions, they said.

Whats clear from this study as that fruits and vegetables turned up as protective factors and fast foods turned up as risk factors, Gabriele Nagel, a senior researcher at the Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry at Ulm University in Germany, said in a telephone interview. Our study provides evidence toward giving dietary recommendations in order to prevent asthma and allergies in childhood.

The study authors included scientists in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Germany and the U.K. A smaller previous study came to similar conclusions, said Nagel, one of the authors.

Fast foods contain high levels of trans fatty acids, which are known to affect immune reactions, they said.

The data came from developed countries including Canada as well as developing countries such as Nigeria and Brazil.

AstraZeneca Plc (AZN), GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK), the BUPA Foundation, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand, the Auckland Medical Research Foundation and other New Zealand charities contributed funding for the research.

An almost fourfold increase in childhood obesity in the past three decades, twice the asthma rates since the 1980s, and a jump in the number of attention-deficit disorder cases are driving the growth of chronic illnesses, according to a 2007 study by researchers at Harvard University. An association between asthma and obesity supports the theory that sedentary behavior diminishes lung function, they said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Makiko Kitamura in London at mkitamura1@bloomberg.net

Visit link:
Fast Foods Linked to Asthma, Eczema in Children: Study