Cheese against dementia: what 50 grams a day can do to reduce risk

According to a Swedish study, eating 50 grams of low-fat cheese a day can reduce the risk of miscarriage, but there are many good articles.

Cheese against dementia: What 50 grams a day can do to reduce risk

Although the data are encouraging, the study should be conducted with caution due to the type of sample and date.

Population aging is one of the most profound demographic changes experienced by developed societies.In Spain, as in other European countries, the challenge is no longer to live long, but to live well.In that equation, maintaining brain health has become a top priority.Diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or senile dementia, which we have often talked about objectively, will become the biggest social and health challenges of the 21st century.

These pathologies lead to a gradual deterioration of cognitive abilities, directly affecting the quality of life of those who suffer from them and those around them.It is not only about temporary forgetfulness or occasional confusion: dementia is autonomous; memory it impairs language and judgment. Its psychological and economic impact is enormous and the number continues to grow. Therefore, over the years, science has tried to stop or delay its appearance, especially after the age of 65.

One of the most researched pathways is food.The connection between what we eat and brain health has been the subject of dozens of investigations.Ants, a new study on the debt of cheese for more than 20% fat per day may be associated with a lower risk of developing dementia in the future.

What the research says

The research was carried out by the team of nutritional epidemiologist Emily Sonestedt at the University of Lund.Published in the journal Neurology in December 2025, a curious phenomenon: cheese against dementia.This is a long-term observational study, based on data from the Malmö Diet and Cancer study, which followed more than 27,000 people in Sweden for 25 years, with an average age of 58 at the start of the study.

Participants answered detailed questionnaires about their eating habits in the early nineties.Based on this information, researchers analyzed whether there was any relationship between dairy consumption and the onset of dementia.All of this uses data collected through the national patient registration system.During follow-up, 3,208 people were diagnosed with some form of dementia.The most striking result was that those who consumed at least 50 grams of fatty cheese per day (equivalent to about five standard slices) had a 13% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who consumed less than 15 grams.

The reduction in mortality is greater in the case of cancer, at 29%.It was also found to have a low risk of Alzheimer's disease.Although this applies to people who do not carry the APOE e4 gene, it is associated with a higher risk of developing this disease.In addition to cheese, a protective effect is found in cream with a high content (30-40%).Those who drank more than 20 grams per day had 16% less fever than those who did not.

The small print study between cheese and dementia

Despite the suggestive nature of the results, there are important limitations.The first is that this is an observational study, meaning it finds statistical associations but cannot prove causality.Eating cheese may be linked to a lower risk of dementia, but you can't be sure that cheese is the cause.Other factors may play a role, such as education level, socioeconomic background, or even other healthy habits that have not been fully controlled.

Second, the cheese data from the studies were conducted over a single period, the 1990s.Many participants' diets appear to have changed over time.As expert Tara Spiers-Jones, from the University of Edinburgh, explains, "it is difficult to maintain that a single food can have a good protective effect", and that the most important thing to reduce the risk of dementia is to continue to lead an active life, maintain a healthy diet, exercise and participate in cognitive activities.

This also has a nutritional aspect: Fatty cheeses are also foods with a high content of saturated fat and salt.Eating too much of it has historically been associated with increased heart risk.Although the Swedish study suggests otherwise in this case, other experts, such as cardiologist Naved Sattar from the University of Glasgow, warn.Note that the participants who ate the most cheese were, on average, more educated and had a better social status, which may have influenced the results beyond diet.