Daily Mail

Planting a tree could protect your brain

-

IF YOU live by a busy road or do a lot of cycling (which I do) you should be alarmed by a new report from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants which, having reviewed almost 70 studies, concluded that air pollution not only increases

the risk of heart disease and cancer, but also dementia.

Cars, buses and lorries produce PM2.5 — tiny particles that go deep into your lungs and which are then carried via your blood to your brain.

This report follows another study, published in July in the journal Environmen­tal Health Perspectiv­es, which found that children whose mothers were exposed to higher levels of nitrogen dioxide (another common air pollutant) when they were pregnant, were more likely to have behavioura­l problems and lower IQs.

So what can you do? First, you could try to avoid getting stuck in traffic, because even if you close the windows, you will still be exposed to pollutants spewed out by other cars. A few years ago I took part in a study where I wore a pollution monitor while walking, cycling or travelling in a car through Central London.

The worst results, by far, were when I was in the car. You might also want to plant some trees in your garden. In 2019, Lancaster University tested the ability of nine tree species to reduce air pollution and found silver birch, yew and elder were able to use the hairs on their leaves to trap the tiny polluting particles, reducing levels in the surroundin­g air by more than 70 per cent.

And please don’t buy woodburnin­g stoves — they contribute more to particle air pollution than all road traffic combined.

 ?? ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom