Pick Your Poison -- Carefully

"For decades, the debate over high-fat versus low-fat diets has shaped health advice, sometimes even categorizing cheese as an unhealthy food to limit."

"Our 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."

"Not all dairy products are equal when it comes to brain health. The few studies that have investigated this have found a correlation with cheese, so more research is needed to confirm our results and investigate whether certain high-fat dairy products really do provide some protection for the brain." 

Nutrition epidemiologist Emily Sonestedt, Lund University, Sweden 

Foods high in saturated fat have been shown in numerous studies to contribute to heart disease and early mortality.   StephanieFrey/iStockphoto/Getty Images

 

Good news for cheese-lovers. Eating high-fat cheese, according to a newly-released study out of Sweden, is linked to a lower risk of acquiring all forms of dementia. Titled High- and Low-Fat Dairy consumption and Long Term Risk of Dementia, the long-term study published in the journal Neurology, studied the lives (and deaths) of 27,670 Swedes over a 25-year period, the majority of which were female, with an avarage age of 58.1 when the study began between 1991 and 1996.

 

The Malmo Diet and Cancer cohort originating in the 1991 for the study of long-term connections between nutrition and cancer, formed the scaffold upon which the study leaned. With the use of a comprehensive diet history methodology combining a seven-day food diary, a food frequency questionnaire and a dietary interview, as a background formula to evaluate dietary intake, the study matched outcomes with their analysis. 

 

The Swedish National Patient Register up to December 31, 2020 served to identify dementia cases. Searching for all-cause dementia a generic term including Alzheimers, vascular dementia and other conditions, the researchers found that consuming 50 grams or more of high-fat cheese daily links to lower risk of developing dementia. Cheddar, Brie, Parmesan, Mozzarella and Gruyer were identified as typical high-fat cheeses, with over 20 percent fat content. 

 

The researchers found that people who ate 50 grams of cheese (with more than 20 percent fat) daily had a 13 percent lower risk of developing dementia than those who ate less than 15 grams daily. Photo: iStock

 

Interestingly, no association between the consumption of low-fat cheese or fermented milk products such as yogurt and kefir indicated similar brain benefits. Surprisingly, butter gave mixed results with a potential for increased Alzheimer's risk at high intake in comparison to those who eschewed butter.  The risk of developing dementia was calculated at roughly 10 percent for study participants who consumed 50 grams or greater high-fat cheese daily, in comparison to 13 percent for those who ate fewer than 15 grams a day. 

 

Over-consumption of high-fat animal products on the other hand may lead to other conditions that are not all that beneficial, to say the least. Overweight, for one thing, and obesity at a time when the world is seeing obesity soaring among both the young and the old. A condition that leads to other diseases such as diabetes which itself can lead to heart and neuropathy problems, including stroke and cancer. What should always be top of mind for good health is moderation in food intake with a focus on whole foods and the avoidance of a sedentary lifestyle at any age.

 

A new study links high-fat cheeses like those found in fondue with fewer cases of dementia. Photo by iStock/Getty Images