Mental Health

Research Links Eating Cheese to Reduced Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

By Drishya Nair | Update Date: Jul 24, 2012 10:26 AM EDT

Everyone who wants to follow a healthy diet knows that they need to keep away from cheese. However, according to a latest study, cheese may actually help ward off diabetes.

According to the study, by regularly snacking on cheese, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes can be reduced by around 12 per cent.

Scientists believe that although cheese is high in saturated fats, it may also contain certain types of fats that are beneficial for the body.

Foods that are high in fats have always been considered unhealthy and have been linked with raising the risks of diseases. However, scientists have always been skeptical about how dairy products such as milk, butter, cheese and yogurt, affect the body.

The research also found that most of the diary products are not as beneficial as cheese, except yoghurt, possibly.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body fails to produce insulin and is the most common type of the condition.

How cheese helps cut down the risk of diabetes could be due to the fermentation process that may trigger some kind of reaction that protects against diabetes and heart problems, the researchers said.

However, charity Diabetes UK has warned against eating excessive cheese until more research concluded the same.

"It is too simplistic to concentrate on individual foods. We recommend a healthy balanced diet, rich in fruit and vegetables and low in salt and fat. This study gives us no reason to believe that people should change their dairy intake in an attempt to avoid the condition," Dr Iain Frame, director of research was quoted as saying by Telegraph.

The findings were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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