Brain saviour: This popular sandwich filling lowers risks of dementia

The popular cheese sandwich filling helps lower the risks of dementia, with a group of scientists confirming that people, who regularly consume it, are less likely to have the degenerative brain disease later in in their life.

As many as 1,516 over-65s in Tokyo, Japan, were part of research studies that looked at their eating, exercise, and health habits.

Diet, past history of falls, ongoing illnesses, muscle mass, body fat, blood pressure, calf size, grip strength, walking speed, cholesterol, and mental state were all taken into consideration.

The majority of individuals (80%) ingested cheese either daily (28%), every other day (24%), or twice per week (30%).

The processed kind was the most popular, followed by blue mould cheese (including Stilton and Gorgonzola), fresh cheese (such as feta, mascarpone, and ricotta), and white mould cheese (such as brie and camembert).

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), which consists of 30 questions, was then given to volunteers to complete.

Memory, language, direction, attention, and visual-spatial skills were among them.

Poor cognitive function was defined as a score of 23 or less.

The researchers discovered that people who consumed cheese were less likely to fall below this cutoff.

The average score for those who consumed the British staple was 28, while the score for those who did not was 27. Cheese eaters also walked more quickly, had somewhat lower blood pressure and BMIs, and generally had more varied diets.

However, their blood sugar and cholesterol levels were higher.

The non-cheese group had smaller calves, fewer teeth, a slower average walking speed, and a higher prevalence of anaemia and urine incontinence.

The authors, who published their findings in the journal Nutrients, said, "Previous studies have shown that a dietary pattern characterised by a high intake of soybean products, vegetables, seaweed, milk, and dairy products, together with a low intake of grain products, is associated with reduced risk of developing dementia."

"Moreover, a high intake of milk and dairy products reduces the risk of developing dementia, especially Alzheimer’s dementia."

"[Our] results suggest that cheese intake is inversely associated with lower cognitive function even after adjusting for multiple confounding factors."

They came to the conclusion that cheese might have benefits for the brain, but further research is required to fully understand these benefits, particularly with regard to dementia development.

The disease is now present in 944,000 Brits.

However, according to experts, this will increase to over a million by 2030.

The most prevalent type of dementia is Alzheimer's, which is considered to be brought on by amyloid and tau protein buildups in the brain.