At least, health researchers are giving us a reason to eat more, not less, cheese.<\/p>\n
Nutritionists at Sweden\u2019s Lund University have found that anyone fond of at least a couple of slices a day\u00a0is\u00a0likely helping their\u00a0brain hold out\u00a0against age-related decline.<\/p>\n
The same goes for those with a sweet tooth who enjoy the occasional dollop of cream with a piece of pie or a handful of strawberries, they say.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that people who eat at least 50g (i.e. two slices) of uncooked high-fat cheese a day appear to reduce their risk of developing dementia by 13%, while consuming 20g or more of cream a day is associated with a 16% reduction.<\/p>\n
Low-fat versions have little effect either way on dementia onset, according to the Lund team, which also found\u00a0\u201dno association\u201d\u00a0for other dairy items such as milk, butter and yoghurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor decades, the debate over high-fat versus low-fat diets has shaped health advice, sometimes even categorising cheese as an unhealthy food to limit,\u201d\u00a0said Prof Dr Emily Sonestedt, whose team\u2019s work on the subject was published by the American Academy of Neurology in December (2025).\u00a0<\/p>\n
High-fat cheeses are those containing at least 20% fat, while for cream, anything below 30% is considered low-fat.<\/p>\n
The team looked at 25 year-long health histories for almost 28,000 Swedes, 3,208 of whom developed dementia over the period.<\/p>\n
Participants kept track of what they ate and how they prepared their meals\u00a0\u2013 information they passed on to the researchers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur study found that some high-fat dairy products may actually lower the risk of dementia, challenging some long-held assumptions about fat and brain health,\u201d\u00a0Prof Sonestedt said.<\/p>\n
She called for more research into the subject, particularly in countries such as the United States where cheese is often eaten melted and with meat.<\/p>\n
The team said there was no reduction in vulnerability\u00a0for people\u00a0carrying the APOE e4 gene variant, which has been shown to be\u00a0a \u201cgenetic risk factor for Alzheimer\u2019s disease\u201d. \u2013 dpa<\/p>\n