(NewsNation) — New research from Europe suggests daily consumption of high-fat cheese may result in a lower risk of developing dementia, although researchers say it’s too early to gorge on the gorgonzola just yet.
An observational study published Dec. 17 in the journal Neurology found people who ate 50 grams or more of high-fat cheese enjoyed a lower risk of dementia compared with people eating less than 15 grams. Similarly, people who consumed 20 grams or more of high-fat cream daily had a lower risk of dementia compared with those who abstained.
The conclusions were based on a comparison of dietary information collected from nearly 28,000 Swedish adults in the 1990s with subsequent health records, including dementia diagnoses, from roughly the last 10 years.
The obvious shortcoming is that the study was reliant on dietary information that may have changed over the years, although researchers say they did an analysis on a subset of the group to see whether their eating habits shifted.
“Our research suggests that people who ate more high-fat cheese had a slightly lower risk of developing dementia later in life,” senior study author Emily Sonestedt of Lund University in Sweden told CNN. “This does not prove that cheese prevents dementia, but it does challenge the idea that all high-fat dairy is bad for the brain.”
Foods that are high in fat have long been identified with the potential to increase levels of “bad cholesterol” in the body, leading to strokes or heart attacks. In looking at “healthier” dairy options, such as cheese, cream and milk with lower fat levels, researchers said these items were not associated with a lower dementia risk.
