New Study Suggests Cheese Might Be Good For Cognitive Health
When you think about the health benefits of cheese, the foremost ones that come to mind might be its calcium, protein, vitamin D, or vitamin B12. It’s great for strong bones and strong muscles.
But what about a strong mind?
That’s what a study recently published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, suggests. However, researchers emphasize the study merely shows an association—more studies would need to be done to prove anything.
What did they find out? Researchers looked at 27,000 people, all in their 50s or older, over the course of 25 years as they kept track of what they ate. About 3,000 of the test subjects developed dementia. After comparing diets, researchers found those who daily consumed 50 grams of cheese—specifically high-fat cheese like cheddar, brie, or gouda—were less likely to develop dementia than those who ate 15 grams of cheese or less.
What’s the explanation? Researchers aren’t exactly sure why this association exists, especially when milk consumption, regardless of fat content, didn’t lower dementia risk, though cream consumption did. However, a few potential explanations:
- Cheese is a fermented dairy product. Fermentation produces bioactive compounds with several health benefits. This study was conducted in Sweden, where cheese is less likely to be cooked or heated than it is in American cuisine—and heat would kill off the bioactive compounds.
- Those who ate cheese ate less high-fat red meat and processed meat. This indicates it might not necessarily be that cheese is good for brain health, but rather than it’s simply not as bad as red meat and processed meat.
What does it mean? This isn’t necessarily a reason to load up your grocery cart with as much cheese as you please. The American Heart Association still encourages limiting the amount of saturated fat from dairy products as best for your heart health (2–3 servings of fat-free or low-fat dairy, with no more than 1 gram of saturated fat per 1 ounce of cheese).
As heart disease and dementia share many of the same risk factors, it’s smart to prioritize cardiovascular health. But this study does imply high-fat cheese might not be the worst thing in the world for your brain—and that’s something worth keeping in mind the next time you feel bad about indulging in a bit of brie.
