There’s a reason people smile when you say “cheese.”
A large-scale genetic analysis has found that mentally healthy people tend to live longer and be healthier, and certain lifestyle choices, like eating a lot of cheese, may play a big role in this effect.
While Chinese researchers didn’t comb through the genes of millions of Europeans just to show that Gouda cheese is good for you, it’s still an eye-catching result — after all, who doesn’t want to be told that eating more cheese will help them live longer and healthier?
Still, the findings have implications beyond simply eating foods that make you feel happy.
Previous observational studies have found that happiness may have even more of an impact on how people age than smoking, but these are just associations and may be confounded by other, often overlooked, factors, such as socioeconomic status.
The current study is different. It employs an analytical method called Mendelian randomization, which is a valuable tool in investigating what factors influence genes and lead to specific health outcomes.
It’s one of the few methods researchers can use to predict potential causal relationships without conducting clinical trials.
Across eight different European population datasets, each containing between 38,000 and 2.4 million individuals, the researchers found causal evidence that improved mental health – as measured by life satisfaction, mood, neuroticism and depressive symptoms – may help people live longer, healthier lives.
“Our study provides encouraging evidence that improving mental health is a realistic avenue towards healthy ageing, regardless of an individual’s age. [socioeconomic status]” Writers Conclusion.
Focusing on 33 individuals from a European dataset, the research team investigated the intermediate factors that drive the causal relationship between mental health and healthy ageing, including lifestyle choices such as smoking, individual behaviors such as drug use, physical attributes such as muscle mass, and diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
This is where cheese comes in: Of the 33 people surveyed, those who reported eating more cheese and fruit were more likely to have higher mental health scores. What’s more, eating more cheese had a 3.67 percent positive impact on self-rated health and longevity.
By comparison, smoking has a negative impact of 4.56 percent on health aging factors, and eating fruit has a positive impact of 1.96 percent.
Interestingly, the researchers found that TV viewing time was the lifestyle factor with the greatest negative impact on health aging factors, with an impact of 7.39 percent.
Bridging the gap between mental and physical health is a complex task, and no study can take into account all the variables that may influence it. That said, the authors of the current study Assert Their study takes a “thorough and thorough” look at the possible effects, at least among people of European descent.
Further research will be needed to examine why eating cheese has such a big impact on healthy ageing compared with, for example, eating fruit.
It is often believed that high-fat foods are bad for human health, but research shows suggest Moderate intake of dairy fats lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. All-cause mortality.
Full-fat dairy products such as ice cream Linked It could be linked to poor mental health, but different types of cheese may have different effects when eaten as part of a balanced diet.
For example, a recent study in Japan found that the higher the cheese consumption, the more likely Linked Improved cognitive function, and Several Other studies This suggests that cheese may stimulate dopamine pathways in the brain, resulting in feelings of pleasure.
These early studies suggest that cheese may be good for your mind and body, so if you want to live longer and healthier, a sprinkling of Parmesan on your pasta every now and then might be a good idea.
This study Nature Human behavior.