Washington (dpa) – At last, health researchers are giving us a reason to eat more, not less, cheese: Anyone fond of at least a couple of slices a day is likely helping their brain hold out against age-related decline. The same goes for those with a sweet tooth who enjoy the occasional dollop of cream with a piece of pie or a handful of strawberries, according to nutritionists at Sweden's Lund University. The researchers found that people who eat at least 50 grams, or two slices, of uncooked high-fat cheese a day appear to reduce their risk of developing dementia by 13%, while consuming 20 grams or more of cream a day is associated with a 16% reduction. Low-fat versions have little effect either way on dementia onset, according to the Lund team, which also found "no association" for other dairy items such as milk, butter and yoghurt. "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," said Lund’s Emily Sonestedt, whose team’s work on the subject was published by the American Academy of Neurology in December. High-fat cheeses are those containing at least 20% fat, while for cream, anything below 30% is considered low-fat. The team looked at quarter-century-long health histories for almost 28,000 Swedes, 3,208 of whom developed dementia over the period. Participants kept track of what they ate and how they prepared their meals – information they passed on to the researchers. "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," Sonestedt added, calling for more research into the subject, particularly in countries such as the US where cheese is often eaten melted and with meat. The team said there was no reduction in vulnerability for people carrying the APOE e4 gene variant, which has been shown to be a "genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease." The following information is not intended for publication dpa spr coh
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