Study finds potential link between high-fat cheese and lower risk of dementia

Cheddar cheese is pictured in this file photo. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)

A study out of Sweden has looked at the possible link between eating more high-fat cheese, like cheddar, gouda and brie, and a lower risk of developing dementia.

The study, which was published Wednesday in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that people who consumed 50 grams or more of high-fat cheese a day had a 13 per cent lower risk of dementia than those who had less than 15 grams daily.

Those who ate 20 grams or more of high-fat cream every day had a 16 per cent lower risk of dementia than those who ate none. High-fat creams include whipping cream, double cream and clotted cream.

The researchers say they considered factors like age, sex, education and overall diet quality.

While the study doesn’t prove that consuming high-fat cheese and creams daily lowers the risk of dementia, it does show an association, the researchers say.

“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,” Emily Sonestedt of Lund University in Sweden said in a release.

“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.”

The study analyzed data from 27,670 people in Sweden, with a mean age of 58, who were followed for an average of 25 years. Over that time, 3,208 study participants developed dementia.

Study participants were asked to keep track of what they ate for a week and were surveyed on how often they consumed certain foods over the years, as well as how they prepared their meals.

Researchers looked at those who ate 50 grams, which equates to about two slices of cheddar, or more of high-fat cheese every day to people who ate less than 15 grams per day. Of the group who ate more high-fat cheese, 10 per cent developed dementia by the study’s end. That number went up to 13 per cent for those who ate less.

After considering factors like age, sex, education and overall diet quality, researcher observed that those who ate more high-fat cheese had a 13 per cent lower risk of getting dementia, compared to those who ate less.

More specifically, the people eating more high-fat cheese had a 29 per cent lower chance of developing vascular dementia, or when thinking skills decline due to blocked or reduced blood flow to regions of the brain.

Alzheimer’s disease was also lower among those who ate more high-fat cheese, but only for those who didn’t carry the APOE e4 gene variant, which is a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s.

When comparing those who had daily 20-gram servings of high-fat cream – about 1.4 tablespoons of whipping cream, for example – to those who ate none, researchers found, after adjustments were made, that those who ate the high-fat cream had a 16 per cent lower risk of dementia versus those who consumed none.

Researchers couldn’t find any links between dementia and consuming low-fat cheese or cream, high- or low-fat milk, butter, or fermented milk like yogurt, kefir and buttermilk.

“These findings suggest that when it comes to brain health not all dairy is equal,” said Sonestedt in the release.

“While eating more high-fat cheese and cream was linked to a reduced risk of dementia, other dairy products and low-fat alternatives did not show the same effect. More research is needed to confirm our study results and further explore whether consuming certain high-fat dairy truly offers some level of protection for the brain.”

The study acknowledges that one limitation could be that all the study participants came from Sweden, which could mean different outcomes for different populations. In Sweden, it’s common for cheese to be eaten uncooked, while in the U.S., cheese is often consumed heated or paired with meats.

Sonestedt said for this reason, similar studies should be done in the U.S.