Many people avoid regularly eating cheese over fears of what it may do to their waistlines.

Yet, eating aged cheeses, including cheddar, brie and parmesan, could boost your liver health.

These cheeses contain a compound, known as spermidine, that stops damaged liver cells from replicating.

This may prevent liver fibrosis - the accumulation of scar tissue that occurs in most disease of the organ, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is the most common form of liver cancer.

Liver disease is the fifth biggest cause of death in England and Wales, and claimed over 11,000 lives in the UK in 2014. HCC makes up around half of the approximate 5,500 new liver cancer cases each year in the UK.

Cheddar, brie and parmesan contain a compound that could boost life expectancy by 25%

WHAT IS HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA? Hepatoceullar carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of liver cancer. Its causes include irreversible scarring, known as cirrhosis, hepatitis and alcohol abuse. HCC symptoms are weight loss, bloody stools, fatigue and jaundice. Treatments include chemotherapy, surgery to remove the tumour or an organ transplant. Source: John Hopkins Medicine Advertisement

Researchers at Texas A&M University analysed spermidine treatment in mice.

When give over their entire lifespan, life expectancy increased by 25 per cent.

If the compound gave this life-length boost to humans, it could help them to reach 100, rather than the current life expectancy of 81, The Express reported.

Yet, any amount of spermidine could be beneficial.

Further research is required to determine if the compound can be made into a supplement.

The researchers also found regularly consuming mushrooms, soya, legumes, corn and whole grains has the same life-extending effects.

The scientists hope their findings will allow humans to make small, achievable changes to their diet that may help them to live longer.

Study author Leyuan Liu said there are just three things that have been discovered to date that help to prolong human life expectancy.

He said: 'Severely cutting the number of calories consumed, restricting the amount of methionine (a type of amino acid found in meat and other proteins) in the diet and using the drug rapamycin - have been shown to truly prolong the lifespans of vertebrates.

'But eating less and not eating meat will not be welcomed by general population, while rapamycin has shown to suppress the human immune system - therefore, spermidine may be a better approach.'

This comes after scientists from Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, discovered patients with liver disease may be able to avoid an early death simply by brushing their teeth properly.

Inflamed gums caused by poor oral hygiene can harbour bacteria, which then travel to the liver and may cause death in diseased patients.