Washington, Sept 14: Eating an apple a day during pregnancy will not only kept the doctor away for expecting mums, but it can also help lower the risk of their kids developing asthma and wheezing.

The finding is based on a study published in the September issue of the journal Thorax in which researchers found that when women ate apples during pregnancy, their offspring tended to have a significantly lower risk of asthma and wheezing when they reached the age of five.

As a part of their study, the researchers followed 1253 mother-child pairs and studied their dietary intake.

The study also backs up the findings of an earlier study published in the European Respiratory Journal in June this year that found a link between apple juice consumption and a reduction in wheezing among children.

Among children who experienced what was characterized as “current wheeze” (where the child had wheezing or whistling in the chest in the last 12 months), there was a significant, dose response association between consumption of apple juice and a reduced incidence of the wheezing.

The researchers found that drinking apple juice made from concentrate and consumption of bananas one or more times a day (compared to drinking apple juice or eating bananas less than once a month) was directly associated with improvement of wheezing occurences.

Authors of the Thorax paper suggest that apples help kids because they have a powerful phytochemical content, which includes flavonoids, isoflavonoids, and phenolic acids. (With Inputs from ANI)