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By CASSIDY MORRISON, US SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER
Scientists have uncovered a link between eating hefty servings of high-fat cream and cheese and a reduced risk of dementia.
In a 25-year study that included food diaries and interviews with more than 27,000 Swedes, researchers found that eating at least 50 grams of full-fat cheese per day and at least 20 grams of full-fat cream per day were correlated with lower dementia risk.
Dementia, an umbrella term that encompasses Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia and several other types afflicts more than 7.2 million Americans, though that rate could be higher.
Nearly 7 million of them have Alzheimer’s specifically and some estimates posit that more than 2.7 million have vascular dementia, which often goes undiagnosed.
A high-fat cheese such as cheddar, Brie and Gouda contain more than 20 percent fat, while high-fat creams contain 30 to 40 percent fat, including whipping cream, double cream and clotted cream. Meanwhile, low-fat cheese, as well as butter, milk, kefir and low-fat cream showed no anti-dementia benefit.
Researchers also found a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease among those who ate more high-fat cheese, but only among those not carrying the APOE e4 gene variant, a leading genetic risk factor.
Dr Emily Sonestedt, a neurologist at Lund University, Sweden, said: ‘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.’