While cheese is often associated with higher levels of saturated fat and sodium, factors linked to cholesterol and blood pressure, a new study suggests that certain high-fat dairy products may be associated with a lower risk of dementia.

The study, published in the journal 'Neurology', found that consuming high-fat dairy products such as cheddar, Brie and Gouda cheese, along with whipping cream, double cream and clotted cream, was linked to a reduced risk of developing dementia. The findings challenge long-held assumptions about the impact of dietary fat on brain health.

Researchers from Lund University in Sweden cautioned, however, that the study shows an association and does not prove that eating high-fat cheese or cream directly reduces dementia risk.

The analysis included data from 27,670 participants in Sweden, with an average age of 58 at the start of the study. The participants were followed for about 25 years, during which 3,208 people were diagnosed with dementia.

The findings showed that individuals who consumed higher amounts of high-fat cheese had a 13 per cent lower risk of developing dementia compared with those who consumed less. When specific dementia types were analysed, a 29 per cent lower risk of vascular dementia was observed among those with higher cheese intake.

A reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease was also noted among people who consumed more high-fat cheese, but only in those who did not carry the APOE e4 gene variant, a known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s.

Similarly, people who consumed high-fat cream daily had a 16 per cent lower risk of dementia compared with those who did not consume it.

No significant association was found between dementia risk and the intake of low-fat cheese, low-fat cream, milk (high- or low-fat), butter, or fermented dairy products such as yoghurt, kefir and buttermilk.

“These findings suggest that when it comes to brain health, not all dairy is equal,” said Emily Sonestedt of Lund University. She added that further research is needed to better understand the link between high-fat dairy consumption and dementia risk.

IANS