Cheese has earned a rather unhealthy reputation. Being the ultimate guilty pleasure many believe that cheese is simply bad for your health. But many research suggests that its reputation as a fattening heart-risk is underserved.
When it comes to key health outcomes and weight cheese is neutral at worst, in fact, it may even be good for your health.
Cheese Isn't Bad, It Can Actually Be Good For You
A paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2011 is the best evidence of cheese's benign impacts. Analyzing 3 cohorts that tracked 120,887 American adults over the past several decades, authors found that processed meats, potatoes, and refined grains were linked with weight loss.
Cheese was right in the middle. Findings show that eating more or less cheese had virtually no effect on a person's weight.
A recent study of 2,512 men in Ireland in 2018 showed a minimal inverse relationship between body mass and cheese consumption after 5 years. This means that eating cheese is linked with weight loss, wherein the effects faded at the 10-year mark.
Additionally, a meta-analysis of 37 random clinical trials found that increased consumption of dairy led to increased lean muscle mass and a decrease in body fat.
Dariush Mozaffarian, lead author of the 2011 study says, "There's almost no evidence that cheese causes weight gain--and in fact, there's evidence that it's neutral at worst." adding, "There's no evidence that cheese is linked to cardiovascular diseases, in some studies, it's even a little bit linked with lower risks."
Cheese and Nutrition
Ronal Krauss, a professor at the UCSF School of Medicine says, "The bad reputation that cheese has regarding its adverse effects on cholesterol, and hence on heart disease, is underserved for the most part."
He adds, "The saturated fat is really composed of saturated fatty acids in a structure that forms a fat. Those saturated fatty acids come in many different forms, and can have different biochemical effects."
Although there are real-world reasons why some people should avoid cheese. Krauss cautions people with high cholesterol that may benefit from cutting cheeses out of their diet. Highly processed varieties of cheese can be high in sodium and other ingredients that people may want to limit.
Despite all this, people who enjoy their aged Gouda, their Mozzarella, and Gorgonzola can rest assured that the cheeses aren't harmful to both their diet or to their health, it can, in fact, be a little bit helpful to achieving a leaner muscle mass.
Cheese is n neither a superfood like a yogurt nor is it at par with overly processed meats. But this puts cheese right in the middle of food pyramids as a great alternative, to increase palatability, and to give yourself a little treat.
Experts, however, say that although cheese doesn't pose many health risks overly consumption of dairy products might not agree with everyone's bodies.
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