According to a new Irish-led study, people eating cheese have a lower level of cholesterol than those consuming other forms of dairy fat.

Emma Feeney, an academic at the UCD's institute of food and health, which is part of the Food For Health Ireland consortium, supervised the observation of 164 overweight adults aged over 50.

Study

They all ate the same amount of dairy fat for six weeks, but some took it as full-fat Irish cheddar, while others ate low-fat cheese or butter.

The overall cholesterol level in those eating full-fat cheese was "significantly lower" than other groups.

They consumed a higher percentage of saturated fat, but their blood lipids were more favourable

So was their level of LDL cholesterol, the so-called bad cholesteral associated with cardivascular diseases.

"Dairy fat, eaten in the form of cheese, appears to differently affect blood lipids compared with the same constituents eaten in different matrices, with significantly lower total cholesterol observed when all nutrients are consumed within a cheese matrix," the study concluded.

Weith and blood lipids

This trial followed from earlier research analysing dietary and health data from a group of 1,500 Irish adults between 2008 and 2010.

Not only did those with high dairy intake tend to be less overweight, those consuming high-fat dairy products had better bloods.

“We found that in the high-fat dairy pattern group, they consumed a higher percentage of saturated fat, but their blood lipids were more favourable,” Dr Feeney said at the time.

In particular, there was no association with high cheese consumption and bad cholesterol.

“We are all told that if we have high LDL cholesterol, we should reduce high-fat dairy, but from what we are seeing in this association study, it suggests that cheese may not be a culprit here,” Dr Feeney said.

The latest trial tends to confirm this.

Scientists suspect that other components of cheese, such as protein and calcium, may influence the way we digest fat. However, how this works remains "unknown", the latest study acknowledged.

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