Prepare yourself for the best news you’re likely to hear all day, nay, week, because new research has just emerged that proves eating cheese every day can help reduce your risk of stroke and heart disease.
The report, put together by the Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene at Soochow University’s School of Public Health in China, and published in the European Journal of Nutrition, analyzed 15 different studies and found the incredible link between cheese and cardiovascular health.
We’ll pause here so you can go grab a slice of brie.
While previous research was highly critical of cheese — and as dairy-free and vegan diets continue to rise in popularity — the food has seemed to get a bad rep as of late, but we’re here to debunk that news.
Study authors found that cheese contains tons of beneficial nutrients (among them: calcium, vitamins A and B12 and zinc), but also contains saturated fats, which have been linked to increased chance of heart disease.
But it’s time to change that thinking.
The new research concluded that those people who regularly consumed cheese were 18 percent less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, 14 percent less likely to develop coronary heart disease, and even 10 percent less likely to have a stroke. All in all, count that a win for cheese lovers.
But before you get to stocking up your cheese board, there is a twist. For one, it’s important that you watch your intake because more cheese isn’t necessarily better. The magic number, researchers found, was 40 grams per day, which is roughly about the size of a matchbook, so we’re not talking daily cheese pizza slices.
Also, it’s important to remember that while the study did find a link between eating cheese and having better heart health, there wasn’t a direct path from one to the other. Instead, the study suggests that people who enjoy cheese also tend to have overall healthier life habits, and since cheese is a staple of the lauded Mediterranean diet, that sure does make a whole lot of sense (just take a look at the diets of people who live past age 100).
So go, enjoy a bite or two of cheese per day. Do it for your ticker.
