There are few things more frightening for a parent than to watch their child fight to take a breath. But for a growing number of parents whose children suffer from asthma, it’s an ongoing concern. For families that live near a busy highway, the threat is even greater. According to a new study in the June 2012 issue of the Korean Journal of Pediatrics, children living near car-infested roadways are at greater risk of wheezing and decreased lung function. They also wind up in the hospital more frequently due to severe asthma symptoms. 

The culprit is traffic-related air pollution—specifically ground-level ozone, soot from diesel exhaust (a known carcinogen) and particulate matter. Although the particles in air pollution are extremely tiny—about one-thousandth the width of a human hair—it’s their microscopic size that makes them so dangerous. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that some particles, like those from freeway pollution, can travel deep into the lungs and trigger oxidative stress. This in turn can cause inflamed airways and hyper-reactivity, say the Korean researchers. 

Asthma is the nation’s fastest growing chronic disease, affecting 22 million Americans. Children are most at risk because of their size and their developing lungs. They inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight and have a more rapid rate of respiration, narrower airways and a reduced ability to detoxify and eliminate airborne toxins—which we also know harm the heart.

But parents aren’t powerless to protect their kids from these harmful airborne toxins. The study also cites earlier research suggesting that supplemental antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids can help protect young lungs from the acute effects of air pollution. One of these studies, which appeared in the April 2009 edition of the Norweigian journal Acta Paediatrica, found that three nutrients in particular—omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin C and zinc—helped ease respiratory symptoms and improved lung function in a group of 60 children with persistent bronchial asthma. Combined with a diet high in healthy fats and antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, these three supplements just might give at-risk kids the ability to breathe a little easier.