A third of a cup of these unhealthy foods a day actually lower your risk of dementia and low-fat versions dont work
Your favorite snack might be doing more than satisfying your cravings.New research from Sweden suggests that regularly enjoying a popular food Americans have long been told to limit could actually help lower the risk of dementia.But don’t go reaching for the low-fat version — the brain-boosting benefits don’t appear to carry over.The study focused on high-fat cheeses, which contain more than 20% fat and include varieties like cheddar, Brie and Gouda.It also looked at high-fat creams, which typically contain 30% to 40% fat and include whipping cream, double cream and clotted cream.“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,” Dr.
Emily Sonestedt, a nutritional epidemiologist at Lund University and the study’s lead author, said in a press release. “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,” she added.Sonestedt and her colleagues followed 27,670 Swedes, who were 58-years-old on average at the start, for 25 years.
During that time, 3,208 participants developed dementia.At the beginning of the study, the participants detailed their weekly diets and answered questions about how often they consumed certain foods and how they prepared them.The researchers then compared people who ate 50 grams or more of high-fat cheese daily — roughly a third of a cup — to those who ate less than 15 grams per day.They found that participants who ate more high-fat cheese had a 13% lower risk of developing dementia compared with those who ate less.They also had a 29% lower risk of being diagnosed with vascular dementia, a common form of the disease caused by conditions that block or reduce blood flow to the brain, such as stroke, which deprives brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients.
Participants who ate more high-fat cheese also had a lower risk of de...