On the other hand, expectant women who ate peanut once in a while during pregnancy did not seem to have an effect, but still the researchers feel that it is too soon to tell women to avoid nuts during pregnancy, as nuts contain many important nutrients and healthy fats needed by a developing foetus.
Lead author of the study, Saskia Willers, an epidemiologist at Utrecht University said, "We were the first to find these strong effects on asthma symptoms.”
She added, "But until we are certain we don't want to restrict them from the diet. So it is important that other studies replicate the findings."
Asthma is a chronic condition which affects a person's airways and tends to run in families, pointing towards a strong hereditary link, but environmental factor does play an important role. The symptoms of the disease are wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest.
Dutch researchers conducted the study on around 4,000 expectant mothers from the Netherlands who outlined their dietary habits. The team then assessed the children's diets and looked who had developed asthma over an 8 year period.
The scientists found that pregnant women who consumed nuts or nut products like peanut butter every day saw their children have a more than 50% increased risk of asthma than mothers who ate them once in a week.
The study looked at the effect of eating all types of nuts, but peanuts, especially in the form of peanut butter, was the most common type of nut that was eaten. Consuming nuts during pregnancy has been doubted of having a role in making babies allergic to peanuts, a condition that in severe forms can be life-threatening.
Willers said, "Peanut is a potent allergen, and peanut allergy is associated with anaphylactic shock and is less likely to be outgrown than other allergies."
The study, which appears in the July issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society, found lower asthma rates in the children of mothers who ate more fruit during pregnancy.
Nearly 5.2 million people in the United Kingdom are presently being treated for asthma and 1.1 million of them are children, says Asthma UK.
Approximately 6 million children in the US alone have asthma, which affects about one or two kids out of 10. In Canada, an estimated 10% of children have asthma.
A study published last year by allergist Anne Desroches at Sainte Justine's Hospital found that newborns are four times as likely to develop a peanut allergy if their mothers consume peanuts during their pregnancies. And, if the mother ate peanuts during breastfeeding, the risk of the child developing peanut allergy was 2 times higher.
An expecting women should avoid following food during pregnancy:
Raw meat
Deli Meat
Raw eggs
Unpasteurized milk
Soft cheese like, blue cheese, feta, brie, camembert
Unwashed vegetables
Alcohol
Caffeine
Some fish
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