Fatty food fires up body's defences: study

HIGH-FAT food provokes the same defence reaction in the body as a bacterial invasion.

The airways become inflamed as protective cells are deployed, says Associate Professor Lisa Wood, a speaker at a meeting of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.

She studied how people responded to a meal of two breakfast burgers and two hash browns, in what she calls an acute fat challenge.

"The fat activates the same defence mechanism that responds to bacteria," says Prof Wood, a nutrition expert at the University of Newcastle's Centre for Asthma and Respiratory Diseases.

"The fat in the blood peaks after about four hours. If this inflammation happens after every meal it becomes a chronic problem."

Prof Wood's acute fat challenge shows people with asthma should avoid fatty food before using ventolin, a drug that increases air flow to the lungs.

They get the same initial benefit as other people, but the effectiveness wears off as the fat content of the blood increases.

"By four hours we've got this inflammation occurring and lung function returns to pre-treatment levels.

"That's pretty important. It suggests that if people are eating these types of meals their bronchodilator is not going to work effectively."

Another study by Prof Wood shows significant benefits for asthmatic people who eat lots of vegetables and fruit.

The three-month study shows people on a diet that includes five serves of vegetables and two of fruit a day have fewer asthma attacks than those who eat two serves of fruit and one of vegetables.

There is increasing evidence that diet is important for asthma management, she says.

"Low fruit and vegetable intake increases inflammation and increases your risk having an attack."

Prof Wood presented research at the meeting that shows poor quality diets could be contributing to increased asthma prevalence.

Her team studied 99 people with stable asthma and 61 healthy controls.

They found those with asthma were more likely to eat higher volumes of processed food, fat and refined sugar than the controls.

"The usual diet consumed by asthmatics in this study was pro-inflammatory relative to the diet consumed by the healthy controls."

This could contribute to an increased incidence of asthma.

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Afghan bombings kill 18, injure 9

AT least 15 civilians and three policemen have been killed and nine others wounded in two separate attacks in Afghanistan, officials say.

"A roadside bomb struck a bus at 6pm (0030 AEST) in Maiwand district, in which 13 people - all civilians - were killed and five others injured," Zia ul Rahman Durrani, a police spokesman for Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, said.

"Locals were travelling from one village to another when the bomb hit their vehicle," Durrani said.

Officials in Kandahar hospital said two of the wounded later succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

In another attack in the western province of Herat, three police officers were killed and four others were injured after a roadside bomb hit their vehicle.

"The police were patrolling in Shindand district today when a bomb placed on a roadside hit their vehicle," said Abdul Raouf Ahmadi, a local police spokesman.

Also in Kandahar, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden mini-van in front of a convoy of coalition forces.

"The bomber exploded his mini-van targeting a US convoy in Maiwand district," an Afghan police spokesman said.

The bomber died but nobody was hurt in the attack.

"We can confirm an ISAF convoy was targeted by a vehicle-loaded today in southern Afghanistan, but no casualties were reported," a NATO spokesperson said.

The attacks came two days after around 7 million Afghans cast their ballots to choose a new president.

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PM continues trade tour of north Asia

A FREE trade deal between Australia and South Korea will be formally signed when Prime Minister Tony Abbott arrives in Seoul for the next leg of his regional visit.

Mr Abbott and South Korean President Park Geun-hye will on Tuesday discuss trade and security in bilateral talks before witnessing the signing of the trade agreement struck in December.

The prime minister is also expected to address a business forum before sitting down for an official dinner with President Park later that evening.

The prime minister arrives in South Korea after two days in Tokyo, where he finalised a free trade agreement with Japan and elevated the defence and security relationship.

Mr Abbott is expected to spend around a day in South Korea, Australia's fourth-largest trading partner, before departing for China.

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Royals rest up for whirlwind NZ tour

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their baby Prince George will have a day of rest after their long flight from Britain before their whirlwind tour of New Zealand begins in earnest.

The royal family have no public engagements planned and will spend Tuesday recuperating after their 27-hour trip at Government House in Wellington, where they were officially welcomed to the country on Monday.

They'll ease into their busy tour schedule with an informal Plunket meeting on Wednesday afternoon, where Kate and William will chat to other first-time parents while George plays with kids his own age.

Government House will act as a home base where George will stay while the duke and duchess travel around on mainly day trips.

The Edwardian two-storey building is surrounded by 12 hectares of grounds, and has a tennis court, squash court and swimming pool if the royal visitors want any exercise away from the public gaze.

The royals flew to Sydney on a commercial flight and switched to a VIP Royal New Zealand Air Force flight for the final leg to the capital.

The jet landed only 20 minutes late despite fog threatening to force it to land at Ohakea military base, a two-hour drive out of Wellington.

The wet weather that greeted the duke and duchess upon their arrival is expected to linger for the next few days.

The tour takes in eight locations around the country. It is Kate's first time in New Zealand.

It's also eight-month-old George's first official overseas trip. He's following in the tradition of his father who also visited the country as a baby.

The duke, duchess and George are due to fly out on April 16 for Sydney to begin their 10-day Australian leg.

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