High-fat cheese reduces dementia by 30 percent

As we’ve been saying for years, you need fats as you get older, especially to protect your brain.  A new study makes the point: people who eat plenty of full-fat cream and cheese are less likely to develop dementia.

A high-fat diet reduces the risk of vascular dementia—the most common type when the blood supply to the brain is reduced—by 29 percent, and the greatest effect is seen when you eat at least two slices of a high-fat cheese such as cheddar, brie or Camembert, every day.

The diet also protects against Alzheimer’s disease for everyone other than those who carry the APOE e4 gene variant, a known risk factor.

It’s not just cheese.  Eating 20 grams of full-fat cream every day reduces the risk of dementia by around 16 percent, and the protective effect increases with the amount you consume.

Researchers from the American Academy of Neurology analysed the diets and health of 27,670 Swedes, with an average age of 58, for around 25 years.  During that time, 3,208 in the group were diagnosed with dementia, and they were more likely to be consuming low-fat dairy produce.

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