In contrast to our recent shocking post on the connection between obesity and Alzheimer’s… A new study published by the American Academy of Neurology says eating full-fat cheese and cream are associated with a lower risk of dementia…
What they did
Researchers analyzed data from a large study that tracked people for more than 25 years. “For de-cades, the debate over high-fat versus low-fat diets has shaped health advice, sometimes even categorizing cheese as an unhealthy food to limit,” said Dr. Emily Sonestedt of Lund University, Sweden.
According to an abstract of the study report, “The research team analyzed dietary and health data from 27,670 adults in Sweden. At the beginning of the study, participants were an average of 58 years old. They were followed for about 25 years, during which time 3,208 people were diagnosed with dementia.”
“To track eating habits, participants recorded everything they consumed over the course of one week. They also answered questions about how frequently they ate specific foods during the previous sev-eral years and discussed their food preparation methods with researchers.”
What they found
People who eat higher amounts of full-fat cheese and cream may be less likely to develop dementia later in life, according to a new study published on December 17, 2025, in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The findings point to a connection between these foods and dementia risk, but they do not prove that eating high-fat dairy prevents dementia. Instead, the study identifies an association.
The researchers found no similar link for low-fat cheese, low-fat cream, milk, butter or fermented milk products.
The takeaway
“Our study found that some high-fat dairy products may actually lower the risk of dementia, chal-lenging some long-held assumptions about fat and brain health,” Sonestedt noted.
But researchers emphasize that more research is needed to confirm these findings and to better understand whether certain high-fat dairy foods could help support brain health.
My take
I suspect the group behind the Neurology study are already either designing or engaged in those ‘further studies’ they mentioned.
Am I the only one, or is the survey finding in favour of full-fat dairy consumption knocking other folks a little off kilter, too? My head is spinning…
~ Maggie J.