Eating cheese could make you live longer
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Bring on the cheddar. Scientists from Texas A&M University have carried out a study which has found certain cheeses could make you live longer and prevent liver disease.
The study found that aged cheeses such as brie, mozzarella and cheddar contain a compound known as spermidine which is able to prevent the most common type of liver cancer developing by stopping damaged cells from replicating.
Researchers analysed spermidine treatment in mice, finding that over their entire lifespan their life expectancy increased by 25%.
While further research is needed to establish whether this would translate to the same results in humans, a positive result would mean that consuming this compound could extend our life expectancy from 81 years to 100. The scientists behind the research did, however, note that you’d have to begin consuming a lot of the compound from childhood for it to be effective.
This study isn’t the first to highlight the positive effects cheese can have - from improving the metabolism to boosting happiness levels, cheese has been shown to be beneficial for us in many different ways.
While cheese is a high-calorie food loaded with saturated fat, eating it as part of a balanced diet may ultimately provide you with some health benefits. There’s good news for non-dairy lovers too, as the study also found that regularly consuming foods like mushrooms, soya and whole grains can also have the same life-extending effects. So good news all round.