Can Eating Cheese Prolong Your Life?

Do you feel horribly guilty after giving in to your cheese cravings and having a whole wheel of brie? After all, cheese is typically associated with unhealthy eating. Recent research however, says you need not beat yourself up; a study published in Natural Medicine suggests that some cheese can actually prolong your life.

The Study

Researchers at the Medical University of Graz in Austria gave mice a compound called spermidine – which is found in aged cheeses – mixed in water and another group only plain water.

They found that mice given the spermidine had better heart function and lower blood pressure. They also found that spermidine can induce autophagy, which makes heart cells which are no longer functional disable themselves.

The researchers also fed the mice a high salt diet and found that the mice given the spermidine lived longer than the mice who had regular water.

Foods High In Spermidine

It’s important to note that the mice were not given cheese, but spermidine – a specific compound found in cheese. Therefore, don’t take this as an excuse to simply gorge on wheel after wheel of cheese as cheese also contains high levels of fat which can wreck havoc with your cholesterol.

Instead, use this as a reminder not to feel too guilty next time you enjoy some cheese. And, why not up your intake of other spermidine high foods as well? These include mushrooms, soy products, legumes, corns and whole grains.