What shall we eat during pregnancy? Worried about chronic illness befalling your little one? What you eat now, when you're expecting, can help strengthen your baby's immunity and ward off certain diseases later in life. How's that for motivation to put down the powdered donut and reach for the veggie drawer?
 
A new report published in the journal Nature Communications suggests that a mom-to-be who eats a high-fiber diet can help her offspring stave off asthma. This illness is incurable, but it's also treatable. However, if not properly managed, it can cause serious health complications in children. Asthma affects the airways and can cause difficulty breathing.
 
The research, which came out of the Department of Immunology at Monash University in Australia, put three groups of mice and their babies to the test. Researchers fed expectant moms high fiber, moderate fiber or low fiber diets during the course of the study. The group that developed asthma were born to the mothers who ate a low fiber diet. Mice whose moms consumed a high fiber diet showed no asthmatic symptoms.