The longest running study on vegetarians suggests that those eating plant-based diets have lower rates of chemical, drug, and environmental allergies.
Preventing Allergies in Adulthood
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So, during pregnancy, cutting down on meat consumption may decrease the risk of allergic diseases. But what about after children are born? Well, a preliminary study in Poland recently of vegetarian children suggested the benefits of meat restriction may continue after birth—concluding that some elements of a vegetarian diet may promote protection against allergy.
And indeed, according to the longest-running study in history comparing vegetarians to non-vegetarians, women who eat meat appear to have a 30% greater chance of reporting chemical allergies, 24% more asthma, 17% more drug allergies and bee-sting allergies, and 15% more hay fever—though in men, meat-eaters just had significantly greater chance of chemical and drug allergies. Now this was cross-sectional data, meaning that this was just a slice in time; so we don’t know necessarily which came first.
Yes, eating vegetarian was associated with significantly fewer allergies. But maybe people suffering from allergies are more likely to start eating healthy, hoping it will make them feel better. Still, after adjusting for other factors, like smoking, the findings do suggest a favorable effect of a plant-based diet on the prevalence of allergies.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by MaryAnn Allison.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Saito K, Yokoyama T, Miyake Y, Sasaki S, Tanaka K, Ohya Y, Hirota Y. Maternal meat and fat consumption during pregnancy and suspected atopic eczema in Japanese infants aged 3-4 months: the Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2010 Feb;21(1 Pt 1):38-46. Epub 2009 Jun 23.
- Gorczyca D, Paściak M, Szponar B, Gamian A, Jankowski A. An impact of the diet on serum fatty acid and lipid profiles in Polish vegetarian children and children with allergy. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2011 Feb;65(2):191-5. Epub 2010 Nov 3.
- Knutsen SF. Lifestyle and the use of health services. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994 May;59(5 Suppl):1171S-1175S.
Image thanks to Jeff Werner / flickr
So, during pregnancy, cutting down on meat consumption may decrease the risk of allergic diseases. But what about after children are born? Well, a preliminary study in Poland recently of vegetarian children suggested the benefits of meat restriction may continue after birth—concluding that some elements of a vegetarian diet may promote protection against allergy.
And indeed, according to the longest-running study in history comparing vegetarians to non-vegetarians, women who eat meat appear to have a 30% greater chance of reporting chemical allergies, 24% more asthma, 17% more drug allergies and bee-sting allergies, and 15% more hay fever—though in men, meat-eaters just had significantly greater chance of chemical and drug allergies. Now this was cross-sectional data, meaning that this was just a slice in time; so we don’t know necessarily which came first.
Yes, eating vegetarian was associated with significantly fewer allergies. But maybe people suffering from allergies are more likely to start eating healthy, hoping it will make them feel better. Still, after adjusting for other factors, like smoking, the findings do suggest a favorable effect of a plant-based diet on the prevalence of allergies.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by MaryAnn Allison.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Saito K, Yokoyama T, Miyake Y, Sasaki S, Tanaka K, Ohya Y, Hirota Y. Maternal meat and fat consumption during pregnancy and suspected atopic eczema in Japanese infants aged 3-4 months: the Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2010 Feb;21(1 Pt 1):38-46. Epub 2009 Jun 23.
- Gorczyca D, Paściak M, Szponar B, Gamian A, Jankowski A. An impact of the diet on serum fatty acid and lipid profiles in Polish vegetarian children and children with allergy. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2011 Feb;65(2):191-5. Epub 2010 Nov 3.
- Knutsen SF. Lifestyle and the use of health services. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994 May;59(5 Suppl):1171S-1175S.
Image thanks to Jeff Werner / flickr
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Title
Preventing Allergies in Adulthood
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
Be sure to check out my other videos on allergies.
For further context, see my associated blog posts: Plant-Based Benefits Extend Beyond the Top Killers; Treating Crohn’s Disease With Diet; Plant-Based Diets for Psoriasis; and Mushrooms and Immunity.
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