Baked beans '˜could help prevent fatal asthma attacks'

A study shows the risk of suffering an asthma attack after exercise is dramatically reduced by natural plant fibres called prebiotics - also found in yoghurt.

They boost the good bacteria in the gut, providing further evidence of the important role microbes living in the intestines can play in health and disease.

Consumption of a prebiotic supplement resulted in significant improvements in the severity of exercise-induced asthma in physically active sufferers.

After a work-out people with asthma sometimes experience a reduction in their lung function as a result of airway constriction.

That was greatly reduced following three weeks of the course - along with a significant reduction in the inflammation of the airways observed during the study.

Exercise-induced asthma involves a narrowing of the airways during or after exercise - leading to unpleasant and sometimes fatal symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and a tightening of the chest.

More than five million people have asthma in the UK alone - 235 million worldwide - and exercise can affect nine in 10 patients.

In a study of 10 adults with exercise-induced asthma - as well as a control group - the effects of the prebiotic supplement B-GOS (Bimuno-galactooligosaccharide) were compared to a placebo identical in taste and texture.

All the participants took them for three weeks before crossing over onto the alternative supplement.

The prebiotic dramatically cut the severity of attacks after a hyperventilation test which causes the effects of exercise-induced asthma - as well as significantly reducing blood markers of airway inflammation.