Is Cheese the Next Health Food?

That's what some experts are now saying. According to a recent study, eating around 40 grams of cheese a day lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke.

This, of course, is big news considering that heart disease is the world's leading cause of death among men and women alike. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that more than 600,000 Americans die from heart disease every year. Unfortunately, this number is expected to grow even higher in the years to come. There are ways to lower your risk of heart disease, however, including dieting and exercise. Assuming this study is right, adding more cheese to your diet may also protect you from heart disease.

For the study, researchers from Soochow University's School of Public Health in China examined data from several existing studies involving more than 200,000 men and women over the course of 10 years. Researchers concluded that participants who consumed cheese on a regular basis were 18% less likely to develop coronary vascular disease (CVD), 14% less likely to develop coronary heart disease (CHD), and 10% less likely to suffer a stroke than their counterparts who consumed little-to-no cheese.

How exactly does cheese offer such amazing health benefits? Researchers didn't specifically say how cheese is able to promote a healthy heart. However, they did say that cheese has some pretty beneficial nutrients, including calcium, zinc, vitamin A and vitamin B. On the other hand, it also contains relatively high amounts of saturated fat -- and saturated fat has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease.

"Cheese contains a high content of saturated fatty acids but also lists of potentially beneficial nutrients. How long-term cheese consumption affects the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is unclear. A meta-analysis of prospective observational studies was conducted to evaluate the risks of total CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke associated with cheese consumption," wrote the study's authors.

The bottom line is that cheese may offer some heart health benefits. The key thing to remember is that you should consume it in moderation. With its high content of saturated fat, eating too much cheese could backfire and actually increase your risk of heart disease. As you as you keep your consumption of cheese to a minimum, however, this shouldn't be a problem.

Do you think cheese is a health food?