The health benefits of cheese

Not too much to worry about when it comes to lipids

Cheese products, if consumed in reasonable quantities (one serving per day), do not disrupt the fat balance as recommended on this site. LaNutrition.fr estimates, for example, that saturated fatty acids should represent 10% of daily energy intake.

A serving of Camembert covers 15.7% of the recommended dietary intake (ANC) of saturated fatty acids (SFA) in an adult man weighing 70 kilos (1).

A study of 70 healthy adults aged 20 to 50 suggests that moderate cheese consumption does not cause weight gain. For a month, the study participants consumed either two 30 g servings of Camembert or two 125 g pots of fermented milk every day. Result: no change in weight or change in cholesterol levels (2).

However, LaNutrition.fr does not recommend consuming more than one serving of cheese per day due to their acidifying nature (read below).

An asset for brain health?

A study from Lund University (Sweden) which followed 27,670 people for an average of 25 years suggests that regular consumption of fatty cheeses (at least 20% fat, such as Brie) and cream reduces the risk of dementia. The people who ate at least 50 g of fatty cheese per day had a 13% lower risk of dementia than those who ate less than 15 g (3). Heavy cream showed similar effects: 20 g per day was associated with a 16% lower risk of dementia, compared to no consumption.

No link was observed with low-fat dairy products, milk, butter or fermented milks.

Cheeses disrupt the acid-base balance

All cheeses are acidifying, especially Parmesan. Sustained cheese consumption contributes to chronic acidosis which can increase the risk of osteoporosis, muscle wasting and kidney disease.