Study of the Impact of Cheese Matrix on Postprandial Lipemia: a Clinical Study

Dairy products consumption is widely recommended in a healthy diet not only for bone growth and maintenance, but also as a protein, calcium and magnesium sources for an adequate diet. However, dairy products are a major dietary source of saturated fat that is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease. ln this context, dietary guidelines still advocate a restriction in dietary saturated fat for optimal heart health. Nevertheless, the association between saturated fat and the risk of heart disease remains highly controversial within the scientific community. There is also emerging evidence that the impact of dietary saturated fat will be significantly influenced by the food matrix through which it is provided. Recent studies indicate that cheese could have a major influence on intestinal fat absorption and the magnitude of the after meal release of fat in blood circulation. This is of interest because substantial evidence exists indicating that elevated levels of the after meal fat levels are associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Therefore, the improvement of the after meal fat levels produced by cheese consumption could well be part of novel therapeutic approaches contributing to improve cardiovascular risk.

The general objective of the proposed research is to investigate how cheese consumption affects the after meal release of fat in blood circulation in healthy subjects. Our hypothesis is that, compared to butter, cheese consumption will have a beneficial impact on the after meal fat levels in healthy subjects. Favourable results from the proposed study will provide novel and much warranted evidence on the importance of considering changes in the after meal fat levels, not only bad cholesterol, as part of the on-going saturated fat-heart disease debate and that cheese should indeed be part of a healthy diet.