Eating Fatty Cheeses Could Help You Age Better By Protecting Your Brain

A major study, recently published in the journal Neurologyhas just thrown a wrench into the nutrition pond: eating full-fat cheese (not vegan substitutes), such as cheddar, brie or gouda, could protect your brain from cognitive decline. So yes, said like that, it almost sounds like heresy, since fat (rightly so) is public enemy number one. As cheeses are not particularly recognized, with rare exceptions, as light foods, they have inherited an unflattering reputation. Except that not all fats are equal, that’s the huge difference.

Cheese leaves the dock

To reach such conclusions, the Swedish team did not do things by halves and called on an impressive cohort, followed over a long period. Of the 27,670 participants, followed over a quarter of a century, 3,208 cases of dementia were identified.. But the most interesting thing lies in the precision of the analysis: each volunteer had to record, for an entire week, an ultra-detailed food log including quantities, frequency, and even cooking methods.

Thus, the “ gros » consumers of full-fat cheese, those who eat at least 50 grams per day (the equivalent of two slices of cheddar or half a cup of grated cheese) display a risk of dementia reduced by 13% compared to small players (less than 15 g/day).

A number is all the more solid that he was “ cleaned » statistically : the researchers made sure to eliminate bias linked to age, gender, education or overall diet quality.

Cheese also protects against vascular dementia, a disorder caused by poor blood supply to the brain. For lovers of pressed pasta and creamy brie, the risk of developing one is reduced by 29%.

The fat, the real

History repeats itself on the creamery side. If you’re in the habit of adding a dollop of whole cream to your dishes, your brain may already be thanking you: consuming just 20 grams per day (or about one and a half tablespoons) is associated with a 16% reduction in the risk of dementia.

But be careful, this is where the study becomes truly selective. If you thought about compensating with milk or products lightit’s failed. No protective effects were observed for milk (whether whole or skim), butter or fermented dairy products such as yogurt and kefir.

Even more surprising, the light versions sold as health allies show absolutely no benefits for cognitive health. This distinction suggests that the protection does not come from dairy itself, but from the specific structure of fats found only in cheese and cream. For your brain, it’s real fat or nothing.

Emily Sonestedt, study co-author and nutritional epidemiologist at Lund University, explains: “Pfor decades, the debate between fatty and low-fat products has shaped health recommendations, sometimes going so far as to classify cheese among the foods to limit. Our findings suggest that some high-fat dairy products may instead reduce the risk of dementia, challenging long-held ideas about fat and brain health. ».

Before transforming your kitchen into a cheese bar, keep a cool head. This study remains observational : it establishes a statistical correlation, but does not scientifically prove that cheese is a panacea. In addition, this data comes to us exclusively from Sweden, a fairly specific cultural playground. There, cheese is mostly eaten raw, far from the dripping burgers or industrial pizzas that we come across in our supermarkets or restaurants. Between a piece of Comté and ultra-processed melted cheese, the impact on the body is probably not the same. Add to this the universal health system and a fairly favorable northern socio-economic context, and you will understand that these results cannot necessarily be extrapolated to the rest of the globe. The lead is serious (and tasty), but other studies would be necessary to know if this shield of cheese fat is just as effective in other latitudes.