For many years, people have been told to avoid full-fat dairy foods like cheese and cream because they contain a lot of saturated fat.
These foods were often blamed for heart disease, weight gain, and other health problems. As a result, low-fat and fat-free products became very popular, and full-fat options were seen as something to enjoy only occasionally.
However, new research suggests that the story may not be so simple, especially when it comes to brain health and dementia.
A large long-term study from Sweden has found that people who eat higher amounts of full-fat cheese and cream may be less likely to develop dementia later in life.
The study was published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. While the findings do not prove that eating full-fat dairy can prevent dementia, they do show an interesting link that challenges some long-standing ideas about fat and health.
Dementia is a condition that affects memory, thinking, and daily functioning. It becomes more common as people age and includes several types, such as Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
As populations around the world grow older, dementia has become a major public health concern. Scientists are actively searching for lifestyle factors, including diet, that may help reduce the risk.
In this study, researchers followed 27,670 adults in Sweden for about 25 years. At the start of the study, participants were around 58 years old on average and did not have dementia. Over the following decades, 3,208 of them were diagnosed with the condition.
During the early stages of the study, participants carefully recorded what they ate over one week. They also answered detailed questions about their eating habits over several years and how they usually prepared their food.
The researchers paid special attention to full-fat cheese and cream. Full-fat cheese was defined as cheese with more than 20 percent fat, such as cheddar, Brie, and Gouda.
Full-fat cream included products like whipping cream, double cream, and clotted cream, which usually contain 30 to 40 percent fat. These are the types of dairy products often labeled as “full-fat” or “regular” in stores.
When researchers compared people who ate larger amounts of full-fat cheese with those who ate very little, they found a noticeable difference. About 10 percent of people who ate at least 50 grams of full-fat cheese per day developed dementia, compared with 13 percent of those who ate less than 15 grams per day.
After taking into account factors like age, sex, education level, and overall diet quality, the researchers found that higher cheese intake was linked to a 13 percent lower risk of dementia.
The link was even stronger for vascular dementia, which is caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. People who consumed more full-fat cheese had a 29 percent lower risk of developing this type.
There was also a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease among people who ate more full-fat cheese, but only among those who did not carry a specific genetic risk factor called APOE e4.
High-fat cream showed a similar pattern. People who consumed about one to two tablespoons of full-fat cream per day had a 16 percent lower risk of dementia compared with those who did not consume cream at all. This association remained even after researchers adjusted for lifestyle and health differences.
Interestingly, not all dairy products showed the same results. The study found no link between dementia risk and low-fat cheese, low-fat cream, milk, butter, or fermented dairy products like yogurt and kefir. This suggests that certain full-fat dairy foods may affect the brain differently than other dairy products.
These findings raise important questions about how full-fat dairy might influence brain health. Some scientists believe that certain fats, vitamins, or bioactive compounds in cheese and cream may support brain function or reduce inflammation. However, the exact reasons behind the observed link are still unclear.
It is also important to understand the limits of this research. All participants lived in Sweden, where eating habits differ from those in other countries. For example, cheese in Sweden is often eaten cold and on its own, while in other places it is frequently melted or eaten with processed meats. Because of these differences, the results may not apply everywhere.
Overall, this study suggests that full-fat cheese and cream may not be as harmful as once thought and could even be linked to better brain health in later life. However, the findings show an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship.
More studies in different countries are needed before doctors can make clear dietary recommendations. For now, the research encourages a more balanced view of full-fat dairy and reminds us that nutrition is often more complex than simple “good” or “bad” labels.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about Vitamin B9 deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and cranberries could help boost memory.
For more health information, please see recent studies about heartburn drugs that could increase risk of dementia, and results showing this MIND diet may protect your cognitive function, prevent dementia.
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