Vitamin deficiency linked to asthma
Researchers claim low intakes of vitamins A and C increase cancer risk
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Thursday, 16, Apr 2009 07:59
There is yet another reason to eat your five a day after researchers discovered people who lacked certain vitamins were more likely to suffer from asthma.
Scientists at Nottingham University conducted a major study to see if the long-suggested link between vitamins A and C and asthma stood up to scientific scrutiny.
Vitamin A is found in calf's liver, milk and eggs and can also be produced by the body from carrots and spinach. The team found those who did not get enough of their recommended daily allowance of vitamin A were significantly more likely to have the respiratory disease.
Not eating enough vitamin C led to a 12 per cent increase in the likelihood of asthma. Vitamin C is found in oranges, kiwi fruits and blackcurrants.
The findings, published today in the Thorax journal, a daughter publication of the British Medical Journal (BMJ), also suggest asthma sufferers who get the right amounts of vitamins A,C and E are more likely to suffer from a milder form of the disease than those who fail to eat enough.
Scientific opinion has been split over links between asthma and vitamin intake and the Nottingham team hope their study will clear up some of the confusion.