(photo by Rick Tango)

The "Mediterranean" diet has gotten al lot of good press linking it to low rates of heart disease, cancer and other dreaded illnesses. Now there's more promising news. It seems a diet consisting of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and olive oi is effective at prevetning asthma in children.

"Our findings indicate that a high dietary intake of commonly consumed fruit and vegetables and nuts may have a protective role on the prevalence of asthma-like symptoms and allergic rhinitis" say researchers.

The research was carried out at the Royal Brompton Hospital, in London, the University of Crete, Venezelio General Hospital in Crete and the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, in Barcelona.

According to the American Lung Association asthma is the most common chronic disorder in childhood, currently affecting an estimated 6.2 million children under 18 years; of which 4 million suffered from an asthma attack or episode in a single year. Recent studies indicate that inflammation produced by allergy, viral respiratory infections, airborne and other irritants is virtually always the cause of an asthmatic condition.

To read a full article on the topic that appeared in the Daily Mail go to: A Mediterranean diet could prevent childhood asthma

To learn more about dealing with children's asthma go to: American Lung Association

To read a previous post on the benefits of a Mediterranean diet go to: Good Fats for a Healthy Heart