An increasing number of people suffer from hay fever, and this contributes to an increase in sickness in children and adults. Studies show that while an illness like asthma becomes less and less frequent, hay fever is becoming more and more frequent. The cause of hay fever is still not completely known and complicated mechanisms prevent further insight.
A Swedish team of scientists tried examining the complicated mechanisms by looking at how diet during childhood can affect the development of hay fever. Hay fever is a common condition, afflicting upwards of 20% of children at the age of 12 and below. The risk of developing the disease increases the older one gets.
The study is based on a questionnaire that was answered at different times during the children’s lives. The results showed that the most common causes of hay fever were pollen (85%), fur (34%) and mites (17%). An increased risk of developing hay fever was proved if the parents had hay fever, if one was diagnosed with a type of food allergy, if one had eczema, and if one is male.
The surprising thing is that eating fish at least once a month at the age of 1, can reduce the risk of developing hay fever later in life. Diet play an important part in many functions in the human body and it is known, that diet in the early childhood can affect the development of future allergies. The explanation behind the results is, probably, the omega-3 fatty acid’s influence on the immune system. However, this assumption should be taken with a grain of salt, since other studies have showed that omega-3- fatty acids alone can’t explain the development of hay fever; therefore, it is believed that other substances in fish, including vitamin D, protect against hay fever. Additionally, it is conceivable that regular consumption of fish is part of a healthy lifestyle, and there are other reasons as to why the children doesn’t develop hay fever.
The second part of the analysis showed that growing up on the country side could further reduce the risk. Development of allergies are, according to some theories, caused by being exposed to foreign microorganisms. It is believed that the immune system is stimulated in a different way, when living in a rural area, since the exposure to bacterial microorganisms is greater; thus, the immune system is better. Experts talk about a dose-responds connection, meaning that the longer one lives in the country, the better one is protected from developing allergies.
