Diesel fumes clog up the arteries and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes warn researchers. Scientists have found that pollution from cars, lorries, vans and buses triggers a chain reaction in the blood that leads to potentially deadening hardening of the arteries.

The researchers say the findings reinforce earlier advice that people with chronic lung or heart disease should avoid staying outside for long periods when pollution levels are high. The link between pollution and heart disease and stroke has long been known but this new research is the first to explain how the fine diesel particles ‘conspire’ with artery clogging cholesterol to switch on the genes that cause blood vessel inflammation.

Dr Andrew Nel, who led the study at the University of California said, ‘When you add one plus one it normally totals two. But we found that adding diesel particles to cholesterol fat equals three. Their combination creates a dangerous synergy that wreaks cardiovascular havoc far beyond what’s caused by the diesel of cholesterol alone.’

The findings just published in the journal Genome Biology are based on lab studies of human tissues. The scientists compared diesel particles and the bad form of cholesterol in a test tube and added them with cells taken from the inner lining of human blood vessels. A few hours later, DNA tests of the human cells showed that the diesel particles were working in tandem with cholesterol to encourage inflammation of the blood vessels.

Eating breakfast cereal may lower the risk of stomach cancer. Research based on more than 4000 people from ten countries, including that the UK’s National Institute of Public health, shows that cereal fibre from grains is protective against the disease.

The men and women in the study were monitored for an average of seven years and during that period those who ate the most fibre cereal were at significantly lower risk. Just how fibre could be protective is not clear but one theory is that it can neutralise carcinogens.

A recent study in Diabetes Care shows that stress changes the body in a way that causes weight gain. Researchers followed 432 women for 15 years. Those who frequently felt angry, depressed or stressed were nearly twice as likely to suffer from metabolic syndrome, a condition in which the body stores fat around the waist increasing the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Experts say that negative emotions can trigger an elevated heart rate and higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can lead to overeating and a slower metabolism. If you would like to read more on this see my book ‘Fat around the Middle’.