In the Mood for Cheese? Here’s Why You Should Consider Full-Fat Over Reduced-Fat Options

Always forcing yourself to go for the reduced-fat cheese in the grocery aisle? Then you may be happy to read this latest study.

The study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutritionseems to indicate that eating regular-fat cheese has no effect on our bad cholesterol (LDL), but does have a positive effect on our good cholesterol (HDL), which scavenges the blood stream and helps get rid of bad cholesterol.

Dietary guidelines typically suggest foods high in saturated fat, like cheese, should be avoided in order to prevent risk factors, such as heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. However, researchers in the Department of Nutrition at the University of Copenhagen were surprised to find that, based on LDL, people who ate regular-fat cheese showed it did not increase these risk factors.

It’s important to indicate this study was only 12-weeks long and included 139 test subjects split into three groups (reduced-fat cheese, regular-fat cheese, and no cheese). However, it’s also important to note that this isn’t the first time scientists have called bunk on diets that recommend reduced-fat dairy consumption.

The participants who ate cheese over the 12-week study saw no significant effects to their blood pressure, insulin levels, glucose levels, or waist measurements. However, the regular-fat group saw a boost to their HDL. This doesn’t mean eat a block of cheese a day. The name of the game here is moderation.

As Sean Curry put it in his piece on sugar: “Eat less sugar. Try to consume things that you can at least conceptually link to something that actually exists in nature. Run a little bit farther every day. Stop letting marketers tell you how to live your life.”

It does mean you no longer have to restrict yourself to sub-standard cheese; go for the regular-fat block next time you’re at the market.