Q: "What sort of foods should I try to eat while pregnant to keep my immune system healthy and help prevent my baby from having allergies?"
A: Professor Philip Calder of the University of Southampton, who has just led a study into what affect a mother eating salmon during pregnancy has on her child's allergy levels, says: "All pregnant women should aim to eat a healthy diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, fibre, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) and some fish, while limiting intake of simple sugars and less healthy fats.
"Some of the fish eaten should be oily (eg salmon, mackerel, trout): the UK government suggests that pregnant women should eat oily fish once or twice a week. Some fish like swordfish should be avoided in pregnancy because they may be contaminated.
"In addition, alcohol shouldn't be consumed by pregnant women, and folic acid supplements (400mg per day) should be taken during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
"There's little strong evidence that any particular dietary pattern or component in pregnancy reduces risk of allergic disease in the offspring. However, there's accumulating evidence that fish and its component omega-3 fats might be protective. Oily fish contain more omega-3 fats than lean fish like cod.
"The idea that pregnant women should avoid foods that contain common allergens during pregnancy (eg cows' milk or hens' eggs) has little scientific support and there are even studies that show that allergen avoidance in pregnancy increases the risk of allergy in the offspring."
