January 14, 2026
Fans of triple-crème brie, cheddar and quiche may be heartened by a recent study that found that consuming high-fat cheese and cream was tied to a lower risk of dementia. The findings are interesting in light of newly issued guidelines encouraging Americans to eat more dairy products, including full-fat cheese, as part of their daily diets. But are high-fat dairy products truly good for the brain?
The study, from researchers in Sweden, found that people who ate, on average, 50 grams or more of high-fat cheese daily had a 13 percent lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia than their peers who ate less than 15 grams a day. Fifty grams, or about 1.8 ounces, of cheese is equivalent to a slice of brie, several cubes of cheddar, or half a cup of shredded mozzarella. (A typical serving of cheese is generally considered to be about an ounce.)
The study also found that men and women who consumed 20 grams or more of full-fat cream daily had a 16 percent lower risk of dementia than those who avoided cream. Twenty grams, or 0.7 ounces, of cream is about one-and-half tablespoons.
There was no association between dementia and consuming low-fat dairy products, milk, or fermented milk products like yogurt, or butter.
High-fat cheeses contain more than 20 percent fat and include varieties such as cheddar, brie, gouda or cream cheese, compared to lower-fat cheeses like cottage cheese, part-skim mozzarella, ricotta and Swiss. High-fat creams typically contain 30 to 40 percent fat and include whipping cream, heavy cream and clotted cream. These are commonly labeled as “full-fat” or “regular” versions in supermarkets.
“For decades, the debate over high-fat versus low-fat diets has shaped health advice, sometimes even categorizing cheese as an unhealthy food to limit,” said study author Emily Sonestedt of Lund University in Sweden. “Our study found that some high-fat dairy products may actually lower the risk of dementia, challenging some long-held assumptions about fat and brain health.” The findings were published in the journal Neurology, from the American Academy of Neurology.
For the study, researchers analyzed data involving 27,670 men and women in Sweden. Their average age was 58 at the start of the study period. Participants kept track of what they ate for a week and answered questions about how often they ate certain foods during the past few years. They also talked with researchers about how they prepared their food.
The researchers followed their health progress for an average of 25 years. During that time, 3,208 people developed Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia.
Among those who ate more high-fat cheese, 10 percent developed dementia, compared to 13 percent who ate little high-fat cheese. High-fat cheese seemed to be particularly protective against vascular dementia, caused by blocked blood vessels, but it also appeared to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, although not in people who carried the APOE-E4 gene variant that raises Alzheimer’s risk. Consuming heavy cream seemed to offer similar protections against dementia risk.
“These findings suggest that when it comes to brain health, not all dairy is equal,” said Dr. Sonestedt. “While eating more high-fat cheese and cream was linked to a reduced risk of dementia, other dairy products and low-fat alternatives did not show the same effect.”
The study does not prove that eating high-fat cheese or heavy cream will lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. It showed only an association. Full-fat dairy products are high in saturated fat, which has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease.
In addition, nutrition studies in general are hard to parse, since diets can be so rich and varied and contain so many different kinds of foods. Isolating the health effects of a single food or nutrient can be extremely difficult, especially when lifestyle factors like exercise, sleep and other Alzheimer’s risks come into play. People who tend to eat more brie, for example, may have more years of schooling and higher incomes and be more likely to work out regularly, factors that can affect Alzheimer’s risk.
More research is needed to determine whether full-fat dairy products really are good for the brain. Experts generally recommend you eat a varied diet rich in many different types of foods. A Mediterranean-style diet, for example, rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains, has been shown in numerous studies to lower Alzheimer’s risk. Including some Parmesan or burrata, at least in moderation, this study suggests, may be a beneficial addition to the mix.
By ALZinfo.org, The Alzheimer’s Information Site. Reviewed by Eric Schmidt, Ph.D., Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation at The Rockefeller University.
Source: Yufeng Du, Yan Borne, Jessica Samuelsson, et al: “High- and Low-Fat Dairy Consumption and Long-Term Risk of Dementia: Evidence From a 25-Year Prospective Cohort Study.” Neurology, December 17, 2025
