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In an accompanying editorial, Dr Robert Baron, professor of medicine at the University of California, said the recommendation for people's diets to have adequate amounts of fibre "may turn out to be the most important nutrition recommendation of them all".

Victoria Taylor, from the British Heart Foundation, said: "It's well known that eating a diet rich in fibre will help keep our digestive systems healthy, but the link between fibre and our hearts is less clear.

"Though we don't know exactly what causes this association between fibre intake and coronary heart disease risk, a number of foods like fruit, vegetables and pulses are all easy to include within a balanced diet and are satisfying to eat.

"The researchers suggest an extra 7g of fibre each day may help your heart. This is the same as a portion of wholegrains, lentils, or a couple of portions of vegetables. So don't pass on the sprouts and parsnips this Christmas and help look after your heart and your digestive system into the new year."

• The Government's policy on hospital food is not working and legally binding standards must be brought in, a campaigner has said. Writing online in the British Medical Journal, Katharine Jenner, the chairman of the Campaign for Better Hospital Food, said a voluntary approach for hospitals to improve food did not go far enough.

She pointed to previous evidence that suggests many hospital meals contain more salt than a Big Mac.

Edited by Andrew Marszal