Gourmet Cheese For Heart Health

Individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease have long been warned to stay away from saturated-fat containing foods like cheese. But a recent study conducted at the University of Florence offers tasty hope for those who have had to sacrifice cheese in the interests of their health.

In a study of the effects of ewe's milk cheese, rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), researchers looked for the effects of the cheese on heart health. CLA, a fatty acid found in meat and dairy products, has caught the attention of health researchers in recent years for its potential health benefits. Studies suggest that CLA has the potential to fight cancer, reduce body fat, enhance muscle growth, lower insulin resistance, and promote heart health.

One of the chief causes of coronary heart disease is hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, which is caused by fatty deposits on artery walls linked to an underlying inflammatory state. As researchers had hoped, the CLA in the ewe's cheese had a positive effect on inflammatory cytokines (reduced by up to 43%) and platelet aggregation (reduced by 10%), key markers of coronary heart disease.

For 10 weeks, study participants consumed 200 grams of ewe's cheese per week to achieve these results. A control group of participants consumed cheese from cow's milk; no improvements were observed in the control group.

CLA is most abundant in the meat, milk, and dairy products of beef and sheep that are chiefly grazed on grass pasture, as opposed to consuming silage feed. One researcher, Larry Satter of the Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin, has found that grass fed cows have five times the amount of CLA in their milk than hay or grain-fed cows. If you love dairy, make it healthy. Choose CLA-rich dairy products like milk, cheese, and butter from grass-fed cows. Look for it at organic health food stores and farmers' markets.

References:
Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases
"Effects of a dairy product (pecorino cheese) naturally rich in cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid on lipid, inflammatory and haemorheological variables: A dietary intervention study"
Authors: F. Sofi, A. Buccioni, F. Cesari, A.M. Gori, S. Minieri, L. Mannini, A. Casini, G.F. Gensini, R. Abbate, M. Antongiovanni

Agricultural Research magazine, "Amazing Graze," April 2000