Irish people who eat a lot of cheese do not have higher cholesterol levels than those who don’t, according to research carried out at University College Dublin by Emma Feeney.
The findings of the new study indicate that those who eat large amounts of cheese consume higher amounts of saturated fats. However, the researchers did not find that eating large amounts of cheese led to increased blood LDL cholesterol levels.
The objective of the study by Feeney et al was to examine associations between dairy food intake and metabolic health, identify patterns of dairy food consumption and determine whether dairy dietary patterns are associated with outcomes of metabolic health, in a cross-sectional survey.
A 4-day food diary was used to assess food and beverage consumption, including dairy (defined as milk, cheese, yogurt, cream and butter) in free-living, healthy Irish adults aged 18–90 years.
Higher (total) dairy was associated with lower body mass index, percent body fat, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Similar trends were observed when milk and yogurt intakes were considered separately. Higher cheese consumption was associated with higher C-peptide.